An Eternal Conflict
by Ambrant Arandel
Summary: Inuyasha and RK Crossover. Kagome comes to the Meiji Era and meets new friends to help guard the jewel. Rated M for Safety. COMPLETE.
1. Lucky?

**A/N:** I do not own Inuyasha OR Rurouni Kenshin. I do however own a big DVD collection of each and horrendous amounts of merchandise, so please don't sue I'm a loyal customer.

**An Eternal Conflict**

**Chapter 1. Lucky?**

Sanosuke stood in front of the temple praying. _I really, REALLY, need to get some good rolls today. Please let this be my lucky day. If I don't Tae's going to kill me over the tab I've run up. Please, some good luck for once, a good luck charm, SOMETHING!_ Sanosuke stood up suddenly as he felt something. It felt like someone had just walked across his grave. He wasn't any good at reading chi like Kenshin, but he could pick up things occasionally.

Not knowing exactly what to think after sensing something like that after a prayer, Sanosuke walked around the temple and stopped dead in his tracks. A young woman was sitting on the dried up old well behind the temple looking into it. From where he was standing, Sanosuke could see she had some VERY nice legs. Sanosuke smiled, maybe today WAS turning out to be his lucky day.

He pulled himself back from the wall for a moment to make sure he didn't startle her and walked around the wall just as she was getting up and smoothing out her kimono. "Excuse me little lady, what are you doing here?" He said sauntering up to the attractive young woman.

The young woman barely noticed him until he was nearly on top of her when finally she looked up with a distant look in her eyes. "I'm sorry, I didn't hear you approach."

Sanosuke shrugged and tried his most winning smile. "I was just wondering what a beautiful young girl like yourself was doing hanging around behind this old temple."

The young woman gave him what appeared to be a melancholy smile and picked up a sizable pack that she hoisted onto her back. "I come here occasionally to think about things is all." The young woman said sweetly. "I'm sorry, my manners seem a bit lacking today. My name is Kagome. Kagome Higurashi."

"Sanosuke, Sanosuke Segara. You can call me Sano though." Sanosuke smiled down at the young girl. "Well Kagome, I guess fate must have brought you here."

Kagome's brows came together quite nicely he decided. "I'm sorry, I don't quite follow you. Was that supposed to be a pick-up line?"

Sanosuke grinned widely to mask his embarrassment. "Well, not exactly." He stammered trying to explain himself. "It's just that I think you might be the answer to my prayers." Sanosuke tried his best to make an innocent face, a decidedly difficult thing for him to do.

"Your first one was better." Kagome said sourly. "I swear, if you ask me to bear you a son I'm leaving."

"No, it's not like that! I was just praying for a good luck charm and then I felt someone nearby. I looked around and there you were." Sano said hastily.

Kagome didn't look entirely convinced. "You felt me nearby? Odd, you don't look like a swordsman. I thought only sword masters had that kind of sensitivity."

Sano look like he'd just gotten one of Kenshin's prize techniques square on the jaw. "I'm not. I just sense things sometimes. Kenshin's the one that does all the chi reading and stuff."

"I see. So why don't you go ask this Kenshin fellow to help you?" Kagome said irritably.

"I've tried that before. I lost even more money that way. Kenshin told me that his ability to read chi doesn't give him any insights into which way the dice are going to fall." Sano said desperately.

"He's lying." Kagome said distractedly. She was looking around the temple grounds as if searching for something.

"What?" Sanosuke said in shock.

"I said he's lying. Any swordsman who can read chi should be able to anticipate the way dice will fall at least to some extent. Anticipating the way an enemy will attack is twice as difficult. Two small pieces of painted wood should be child's play by comparison." Kagome finally looked like she was starting to relax.

"I'll have to ask Kenshin about that one." Sano said suspiciously. "Say, why are you looking around like you're expecting someone to jump out at you at any minute, and how do you know so much about sensing chi? You don't look like a sword master either."

"I'm just being careful is all, if you sensed something I may have been too distracted and missed it. I can sense chi too, it's a pretty handy skill to have around, and no, I'm not a sword master, I'm a… priestess." Kagome said finally turning back to look at Sanosuke.

"A priestess?" Sano said slowly. He remembered his thoughts while he was looking at her legs and mentally begged forgiveness to whatever gods might be listening. "Then why aren't you wearing the clothes of a priestess? You aren't in any sort of trouble are you, because if you are I'd be happy to pound in a few heads if somebody's bothering you."

Kagome smiled. Sano decided he liked the look of it. "No trouble. At least none you could help me with. I haven't served as a priestess in a while though."

Sano smiled for a moment. It wasn't often that inspiration came to him, he was a pretty straightforward kind of guy, but this opportunity couldn't be passed up. "Well, I was wondering then, could you help ME then?" Sanosuke tried to put on his most helpless puppy dog expression. It worked on Kaoru occasionally, and Tae too, unfortunately the fox was apparently immune to it.

Kagome shook her head sadly, but she was still smiling which was a good sign. "So you want me to help you cheat at gambling?"

"Yeah, basically." Sanosuke admitted. "Or if you could teach me to sense chi that would be a great help. Then you wouldn't have to go to the places I go to, being a priestess and all."

Kagome was shaking her head again. "It takes years to learn that type of skill, I can't just wave my hands and say here you go."

"You can't tell by looking, but I'm a pretty quick learner. I learned the Futai no Kawami technique in only a week, though I nearly died from that experience though." Sano said thoughtfully. "Besides it couldn't have taken that long if you can do it, right?"

Sano backed up for a minute, as flames seemed to surround Kagome as she looked up at him dangerously. If it had been Kaoru he'd have been whacked by now. "And what exactly is that supposed to mean?" Kagome said dangerously.

"Nothing!" Sano said desperately. "It's just that you can't be more than what, fifteen, and I doubt you learned the ability while you were still a kid."

Sano watched as Kagome deflated and became much calmer. She got the far away look in her eyes again and looked back at the well. "You have no idea." She said mysteriously.

Sano looked at the young woman casually. She might be a little older than fifteen, but she was definitely younger than he was and was probably younger than Kaoru too. Finally, Sanosuke sighed in defeat. This girl was obviously lost in thought over something and she wasn't about to let him in on it. _I guess today isn't my lucky day after all._

"Well, I'm sorry I bothered you Kagome. I guess I'll leave you to your thoughts and go try to win my money the hard way." Sano said sadly and turned to go. He looked down one last time but noticed that Kagome wasn't looking anywhere near him. She was looking behind him toward the stairs leading down from the temple.

"Yeah, you better get going Sano, quickly." Kagome said looking increasingly worried by the moment.

Sano turned around and followed her gaze as a large man stepped into view on top of the stairs. "That's weird, I thought Shinomori had the only overcoat in Japan." Sano said. He didn't like the look of this guy either. For some reason he couldn't make out his face very well.

Kagome stepped in front of Sanosuke and slowly set her pack down. "They're becoming more popular by the day it seems." Kagome said with an obvious irritation in her voice.

"Higurashi!" the man croaked in a voice that sounded to Sano like a frog's death rattle. Sano stepped protectively in front of Kagome and raised his fists.

"Sano, what are you doing?" Kagome asked.

"I don't like the looks of this guy Kagome and I'm not about to walk away and leave a young girl alone with the likes of him, especially if she's a priestess." Sano said as he settled into his fighting stance.

Just as Sano suspected the man pulled a sword from under his coat and unsheathed it slowly. "Does this belong to you, Higurashi?"

"I thought you didn't use swords." Sano said.

"He's talking about you, stupid." Kagome said with even more irritation in her voice. "Get out of the way."

The man lurched forward and Sano pushed Kagome back out of the way as he charged. He ducked quickly under a stroke that was meant for his head and punched for the stomach with a quick left.

Sano's fist impacted into his stomach. Sano nearly swore from the pain, as his fist seemed to slam into a solid rock wall. Correction, rocks were softer. Sano tried to spin around as the man swept past him headed straight for Kagome.

Sano decided it was time to break out the heavy artillery and threw his Futai no Kawami into the kidneys of the retreating figure. Sano heard a satisfying crunch until he realized it was his knuckles cracking. He did however achieve one goal. He now had the man's undivided attention.

Sano looked up as the elbow came crashing back down towards his face. He was usually pretty quick, but this guy was faster. He caught the full force of the elbow square on the jaw and reeled from the force of it. It wasn't until he slammed into the ground that he realized he'd been airborne.

Sano looked up as the man walked casually over to him. Behind him he could see Kagome praying. _Stupid girl should be running. I'd hate to think I went through this for nothing._

The man stood over him for a moment and Sano looked up. _This guy has no FACE!_ Sano lay there for a moment stunned by the realization. That was unfortunately all the time the man needed to drive his sword through his chest.

Sano looked down at his chest with the blade sticking out of it. It was strange. It was a warm sensation, as if he was drinking warm sake. Sano looked up for one last time before the darkness raced in to claim him.

Kagome finished her chant as the demon pulled his sword free from the unfortunate boy she had just met and turned back towards her. "Is that the best protector you could find, witch?"

"He wasn't my protector, but he managed to give me the time I needed." Kagome said seriously. The energy around her began to coalesce as the demon rushed forward to kill her. Kagome didn't move as the demon struck the shield she had erected. _Thank you, Miroku!_

"You can't stay in there forever witch!" the demon said howling in frustration.

"I don't have to, I just need to finish a not-so-quick spell." Kagome said smiling.

Kagome began to chant her spell pulling her hands in front of her as she began the casting. The demon clawed at her shield for a few moments before it recognized the spell. By then it was too late. The demon ran for the stairs as Kagome released her spell at the demon. The energy from her shield arced out at the demon and swept it up into the air as it tried to run. It was held fast as the energy began to rip at its body, slicing into the demon.

Kagome stepped closer to the demon as she pulled in the power as Inuyasha had shown her. "IRON REAVER, SOUL STEALER!" She screamed letting out the energy into controlled arcs that sliced into the helpless demon. The demon exploded into a shower of flaming pieces and sparks.

Kagome got up and looked at the poor boy that had thought he was rescuing her. She turned towards the stairs to run. If she was lucky she could get clear before any police arrived to investigate the commotion. She stopped before she could take the first step.

_I can't do it._ Kagome turned and ran over to the young man and knelt down beside him. He'd lost a lot of blood, and his heart had obviously stopped. She opened herself and saw the spirits ready to claim his soul and carry it to the underworld. Kagome reached into her pack, pulled out her sword, and slashed Sano with it.

The spirits were destroyed immediately, and she replaced the blade in her pack quickly. She could just hear the sound of someone coming as the young man began to rouse.

"What? What happened?" Sano said shaken from the fight.

"The man with the sword stabbed you. You almost died." Kagome said seriously. "He's gone now."

Kagome tried to help Sano up as some people came running into the temple grounds. Kagome looked up to see two men come running with a young woman following close behind. They ran over to Kagome as she put Sano's head in her lap and tried to look the damsel in distress.

"What's going on here?" The taller of the two men said as he stopped in front of the two of them.

"Can it Saitoh, I just saved this young lady is all." Sano said heatedly. He tried to sit up and winced before falling back to leave his head in Kagome's lap.

"You don't look like you could have saved a drowned kitten." Saitoh said derisively. "There's enough blood here to fill a bucket."

"Sano was hurt when a swordsman attacked us. He managed to drive him off, but he was hurt in the process." Kagome lied. If this kid wanted to take the credit, it was fine in her book. It meant less she'd have to be involved with the police.

The tall officer obviously found it hard to believe, but let the matter drop. He looked around and finally retrieved the sword that the demon had been carrying. "I guess the rooster did get lucky." He said offhandedly.

Kagome believed that if Sano could have stood he would have gone for the cop right there. Fortunately, he was weak enough for her to gently hold him down with out raising a ruckus.

"Let me take a look at your wound there Sano." The smaller of the two men was saying. Kagome nearly jumped out of her skin as he opened Sano's jacket and looked at the wound. Kagome couldn't sense anything from him as he looked at it. If he was surprised, he hid it well.

"It isn't that deep." He said finally. "Saitoh, we're going to take Sano back to the dojo and send for Ms. Megumi."

"Fine. First, though, what did the swordsman look like?" Saitoh said striking up a cigarette.

Sano jumped as memory started flooding back to him. "The guy didn't have a face!" Sano said. His eyes seemed to be making a valiant effort to leave the vicinity of his skull as his memory returned to him.

"Uh, what he means is that the guy was moving too fast for anyone to see him clearly." Kagome said quickly. "He was actually pretty non-descript. He had black hair, and looked pretty mean but otherwise he could have been anyone." _Literally,_ Kagome thought.

Saitoh nodded before setting out. "I'll be sure to have the police patrols keep a look out for trouble then."

The tall policeman left and Kagome started to feel somewhat relieved when the young woman touched her shoulder. "We're going to take Sanosuke to my dojo now. You're welcome to come along miss…"

"Kagome. Kagome Higurashi. Thank you, but no, I really must be going." Kagome said apologetically.

"I would really appreciate it if you would come with us Ms. Kagome." The small swordsman said. "My name is Kenshin and this is Ms. Kaoru. I would like to ask you a few more questions about the swordsman if you don't mind."

Kagome started to resist, but then she saw the sword on the man's side. _Kenshin. Sano's friend that can read chi. Great, the guy is probably reading me like a book right now._

Kagome sighed in defeat. "Sure, lead the way."

Kagome squeezed the water out of the cloth and tried to make her patient comfortable. She had the equivalent of a doctor's training and could heal things that most physicians of this time period thought were incurable, except this. Her patient groaned and rolled his head in her direction.

"I'm not going to make it out of this alive, am I?" He said between the pains that wracked his body.

"Lay still and try not to move, you'll only make it worse." Kagome said as she replaced the damp cloth on his forehead.

"You never could hide anything from me Kagome. I guess there are some things that even the Tensaiga can't cure." He said coughing.

Kagome put a soft hand on his cheek until he closed his eyes. She then moved over to the door to look out into the cold night of winter. It was nearly midnight, and he had pneumonia. The Bakumatsu was nearly over, that at least was good news, but it would be a hollow victory if she lost him.

Instead of growing old together, he had grown old and she had remained the same age. At first, they had traveled together as spouses, then as the years had passed they slowly started posing as father and daughter, and finally as grandfather and granddaughter. Now he lay dying, as she stayed the same age.

She had known this day would come but the circumstances were the worst she could have imagined. They had been delivering some medicines she had prepared to some friends when the soldiers ambushed them. He had fought bravely, but his age had finally caught up with him. She was standing out of the way when she saw one of the men was carrying a musket. He had fired at her. The bullet had been meant for her, but he had gotten in the way of it.

It should have killed him. She remembered him falling into her arms after he turned and rent the soldier in half with his claws. She had healed his gunshot wound, but the pneumonia had set in. Now they were here in this abandoned cabin and he was dying.

His coughing pulled her out of her sorrow long enough to move back to his side. He awoke again and his breathing was becoming more labored. "Kagome, promise me something."

"Anything." She said to her dying love.

"Promise me you won't try to carry this burden by yourself. I've watched you recently. You look like you're preparing yourself for being alone." He held up his hand and stopped her before she could speak. "Please, these may be my last words. I've tried to teach you all that I know so that after I'm gone you'll be able to do anything I could have, and your skills are already vast, but that doesn't mean anything if you have to wander all alone. You've got to let someone help you; otherwise you'll die, if not from the demons, then from loneliness. Please… promise… me…"

His last words escaped as a whisper from his lips as Kagome's tears fell on his hand that she held clutched in her own. "I promise Shippou, someday."

Kagome awoke on the futon that had been given her. She was in the room that Ms. Kaoru had given her. She hadn't slept in years, but the presence outside her door told her that if she didn't the swordsman outside her door would have thought something was wrong.

Kagome extended her awareness until it reached the closed door. The porch outside was empty except for a few crickets out in the grass. It was sometime around midnight.

_Great, I thought he'd never go to bed._ Kagome thought as she sat up and dressed. She disliked sleeping. It shut down the body too much. If you were shut down that completely it left your mind and body open for attack from demons for one thing. Some nightmares you don't wake up from if the right demon gets its claws on you.

Kagome sat up and went into meditation. She greatly preferred meditation. Not only could she awaken herself within the space of a heartbeat, she could extend her awareness even better than when she was awake. She could also control what her visions focused on. She didn't like remembering her friends as they died, like she often did when she dreamed. Instead she would sit for hours remembering the wonderful times they had experienced. _Yoda was right 'Things you will see. Friends long gone.'_

She had lost the first of her friends centuries ago and the last of them ten years ago. She tried not to interact with other people too often, for their own protection. Still remembering her promise to Shippou before he died left her feeling a little bit guilty. She had told him someday, but it had been ten years. She really should be getting on with her life.

Kagome roused herself from her introspection and tuned her awareness around her. In this state, she could feel nearly everyone around her for several streets. There weren't any demons around that much was good, and there weren't many people near the dojo. She sensed the police officer she had met before lurking outside the dojo with another officer, but they didn't stay long before they continued on their patrol. She sensed the ability to read chi in that one.

Kagome focused her senses in to the dojo itself and started scanning its occupants. With Sano's injuries the conversation had been limited. She had met them only this morning, and they had seemed decent enough people, but Kagome still liked understanding the people she was around. She had met a young boy that apparently was a student at this dojo, a female doctor, and then there were the woman, swordsman, and Sano of course.

Kagome took a deep breath and concentrated on Sano. She trusted him, he had tried to save her after all, but she didn't know if she would be so quick as to turn her back on him. After all, she had learned to trust Miroku with her life, just not her bottom.

Sano's dreams were replaying the events of that morning when he had been stabbed. She watched the scene through his eyes from the beginning. _So he likes my legs, does he? Well, at least he felt bad when I told him I was a priestess._

Kagome watched the stabbing. It was terrifying to watch, but she'd seen and felt worse. The sight of the blade sticking in so deep was confusing to Sano though. He couldn't understand why he wasn't dead. Kagome smiled inwardly and went to work. She manipulated Sano's memory, a surprisingly easy thing to do, until he remembered the blade being a little further to the right and not quite as deep. _'Well, I'm still alive so the thing must have just missed my heart by a hair'_ Kagome added for good measure.

Kagome moved to the boy, Yahiko, next. She looked into his dreams and quickly pulled back blushing. Nothing too complicated there, just your average red-blooded, virile, teenage boy. She didn't know who this Tsubame girl was, but if she thought of him the same way he thought of her, they'd probably have a dozen kids before thirty.

Next, she went to the young woman Kaoru. She was having a dream that was also romantic, but it was a great deal more subdued than Yahiko. She was with this swordsman, Kenshin. They were in her room, and they were together in her futon. Kagome was glad she hadn't arrived a few minutes earlier. Kagome watched as Kenshin got up and began to dress. _Hmm, a surprisingly detailed image of his body she has there._

"Kenshin, where are you going?" Kaoru asked with fear creeping into her voice.

"I'm sorry Ms. Kaoru, but I can't stay here any longer. I have to leave you now." Kenshin said as he put on his sword and walked out. Kagome found herself standing in a grove of trees next to the river as sakura petals began to fall. She watched Kenshin walk away. She looked at Kaoru and saw her collapse. "Kenshin, can't you see I love you?"

With that Kaoru's dream ended and she was still. Kagome felt sorry for her and reached deeper into her mind. The trouble she had was deep. This woman had been through a lot in her short life. She had the resilience of stone, but she wasn't flawless. She could withstand nearly anything except loosing the ones she loved and she obviously loved this Kenshin greatly. It also appeared as if she'd nearly lost him once before. This apparently stemmed from loosing her father, and would probably explain why she had fallen for a man much older than herself.

Kagome sighed. She wished there was more she could do to help, but she didn't plan on hanging around that long. She left and visited the doctor next. This woman was a little more difficult to read. She wasn't dreaming, but images of Sano drifted through her thoughts occasionally. Usually with him being hurt and lying in front of her helpless. Slightly alarmed, Kagome looked a little deeper.

_Great, here's ANOTHER woman with man issues._ Kagome thought dryly. She'd gone through the same thing with Sango and Miroku. Some women just couldn't surrender themselves to a man no matter how much they wanted too. Now if the man was under their control somehow they were more content. Sango had just been lucky that Miroku had enjoyed that sort of thing. Kagome left and went to the last stop she had on her list.

She had not been looking forward to this. She had to be very careful. Swordsmen typically had powerful senses, and if she weren't careful her mind would be at his mercy until he awoke. He also might realize she had been in his dreams.

Kagome picked her way in carefully. The mind of a swordsman was a maze. The lifestyle they led typically left them jaded with plenty of mental barriers, and this one was worse than most. He was also dreaming. If he had not been she doubted she would have been able to enter in.

Finally, Kagome stepped out into a snowy forest. She looked around and found herself looking at a young boy chained to the ground. He was looking away from her and he was screaming. "NO DON'T DO IT!" He cried as he tried to get free, he was also crying.

Kagome looked up to see Kenshin, or at least some part of Kenshin. It radiated evil and Kagome began to get concerned. _This man thinks of himself as evil?_ He was injured and walking through the snow towards another man. The two of them began to fight and Kagome watched as a young woman jumped between them to protect the evil Kenshin and was struck down. The woman lay there dying, and Kagome watched as she transformed in to Kaoru, her dead eyes staring up at the stars.

Kagome could feel the waves of guilt and pain coming from the little boy. Suddenly her surroundings shifted. She was standing in the dojo. "What are you doing here?" A small voice commanded behind her.

Kagome turned around to see the little boy standing behind her. _Busted._ Kagome thought to herself. "I'm only a dream. We met today and now you're dreaming about me Kenshin."

"I'M NOT KENSHIN!" The little boy yelled. Kagome flinched as she felt the sting in her own mind. "My name is Shinta. HE'S Kenshin." The boy said pointing.

Kagome looked to the wall where she saw Kenshin chained. He looked evil and menacing and his ponytail was pulled high on his scalp while the ponytail on Shinta was much lower. "Let me out of here you little wretch!"

"No, you aren't going to hurt Ms. Kaoru!" Shinta said fiercely.

Kagome looked from one of them to the other. "You want to hurt Kaoru?" She said to the chained Kenshin.

"She's MINE, I'll do what ever I want to her!" Kenshin said with a growl.

"I'll never let you hurt her!" Shinta said fiercely again. "I can't kill you, but I'm not letting you go free again. Not after what you did to Tomoe."

"Who's Tomoe?" Kagome asked Shinta.

Kagome watched as the boy started to cry. "It's OK Shinta, you can tell me. Come on. Let's go sit on the porch OK?" Kagome led the young boy out onto the porch. She was discovered and she was sure Shinta could stop her from leaving if she tried so she decided to ride it out. He'd either wake up soon or let her go. "So, who's Tomoe?"

"No, I don't trust you." Shinta said stubbornly. "I saw that wound on Sano's chest. It was lethal. Why didn't he die?"

"Alright, I saved him. He was going to die and I saved him. I have a few talents that most other people don't have. I'm a priestess." Kagome tried to give him her most reassuring voice possible.

"Who was after you and are they going to hurt Ms. Kaoru?" Shinta asked.

"He was a demon and he won't be able to hurt Ms. Kaoru now. I destroyed him." Kagome said softly.

"Really?" Shinta said excitedly. "Can you destroy Kenshin?" The boy jumped up and pointed into the dojo where Kenshin still struggled to free himself.

"I don't think so. At least I wouldn't try until I was sure what would happen to you." Kagome said slowly.

"I don't care what happens to me! He can't be allowed to kill anyone again." Shinta said hotly.

Kagome held up her hands. Getting the boy upset could be lethal here. She pulled in her breath and made a flat out leap of faith. "I promise I'll look into it OK? What about Ms. Kaoru? Wouldn't she be sad if something happened to you?"

Kagome could tell she had struck home as the boy looked down guiltily. "It would be better for her." He said miserably.

"I'll look into it Shinta, but only if you tell me who Tomoe was." Kagome said with a stern motherly tone that had taken her about forty years to master.

Shinta sat down next to her and kicked his feet over the edge of the porch. "She was his wife." He said pointing his thumb back toward Kenshin.

"DON'T YOU DARE TELL HER ANYTHING YOU LITTLE WRETCH!" Kagome could hear bellowed from inside the dojo. "SHE'LL BE ABLE TO USE IT AGAINST US!"

"You shut up! If it gets rid of you I'll do anything!" Shinta yelled back. "He was an assassin for the Meiji government, and he went into hiding with Tomoe and fell in love with her. I thought he could be trusted with Tomoe, but then he killed her."

Kagome pulled Shinta into her lap as he began to cry and held him close. "He should have stopped himself, he should have been able to save her but he didn't. They tried to make me think she had betrayed me, but I didn't believe it. I tried to make him understand that, and he said he didn't believe it either, but then why did he kill her?"

Kagome tried to hold back her own tears as she rocked the little boy in her arms. "Have you been like this since then?"

"Yeah. I chained him to the wall. He's stronger than I am, but I can trick him when I need to. We've been like this for ten years now. It's been a lot easier for me since I came to the dojo. I won't let him try to intimidate me into letting him free here." Shinta said quietly. "Every night, I keep him here at bay and stand watch."

"Don't you ever sleep?" Kagome asked.

"It is sleep to a degree, but if I ever let myself go I'm afraid that he'll get free." Shinta said with a yawn. "You sure are warm. You smell nice too."

Kagome smiled at the little boy nuzzled against her and hugged him closer. "Shinta, do you trust me?" Kagome asked softly.

"I do now." Shinta said quietly.

"Do you trust me to keep watch over Kenshin while you sleep?" Kagome asked.

"He's too powerful, he might kill you too." Shinta said with worry in his voice. It was a loosing battle for him though, because he was yawning. Ten years of this kind of sleep would have put a lesser man in his grave by now. "Besides I have to go make breakfast soon."

"I'm pretty powerful myself Shinta, after all, I came in here didn't I?" Kagome lied. "And don't worry about breakfast, I'll take care of it."

"OK, if you think you can handle it. I'll be right here in case anything goes wrong." Shinta said with his eyes sliding shut.

"It'll be OK Shinta, you sleep now and have rose scented dreams." Kagome said. She held the boy and sang him a lullaby until she felt him breathing steadily. She then got up and carried him to his room and put him in the futon. Normally, as someone's psyche lost control the dream state would dissolve and she'd be free. However this dream state was still firmly in place.

Kagome looked around and then went back into the dojo. Kenshin was there, pulling frantically against the chains. He stopped as Kagome came in and he slowly let out a feral growl. "I guess I should thank you for putting the brat to sleep. Now I can finally get out of these chains and get something accomplished."

"What are you going to do once you get free?" Kagome asked.

"Well, maybe I might have some fun with you for starters." Kenshin said looking Kagome over with a look that made her feel very uncomfortable. "It's been ten years since I've had a woman and I think I'm overdue. Then I'm going to go kill that bastard Saitoh, he's been asking for it enough here lately."

"Well you can stop struggling, because I'm not letting you out of those chains and if you do try to get out I'm going to go wake up Shinta." Kagome said seriously.

The snarl that escaped from Kenshin was guttural. Right now he looked more demon than man. "You think that little shrimp can protect you from me?"

"Yes, I do. You're here after all, but I have something that'll make you want to listen." Kagome said seriously.

"What could you possibly have that I would want?" Kenshin asked before giving her another significant ogle. "Or rather, what else could you possibly have?"

"You'd rather have Kaoru right?" Kagome asked.

The reaction from Kenshin was immediate. He nearly burst his chains as he strained to close the distance between the two of them. "Yes. I want her. Now!"

"Patience. You strike me as one that can be patient if it means getting what you want." Kagome said trying to placate the man.

"I can be." Kenshin said with a sidelong glance. "I thought you promised the brat you'd find a way to kill me?"

"I did, but I don't really think that there's any way for me to do that without destroying both of you. I might be able to find a way to help though. The two of you are obviously different parts of the same personality. How did Freud put it, you're the Id and he's the Ego, or something like that. You two need each other." Kagome said looking Kenshin over.

"So what are you proposing?" Kenshin said suspiciously.

"Let me try to find a way for you to be released. In return, I want you to sleep. Quit trying to escape from Shinta for a few days and I may be able to get him relaxed enough to let you free. You have to promise me that you won't try to break free." Kagome said sternly.

"I might be attacked if I'm asleep. That brat can't stop anything from happening." Kenshin said fiercely.

"I'll help. I'll make sure nobody tries to kill you." Kagome said leaning close to Kenshin and putting a seductive hand on his chest. "And while you're asleep you can dream about Kaoru and all the things you'll do once you're free."

Kenshin's leer was almost as menacing as his growls. He relaxed and sat down against the wall. "Alright, we'll play it your way for a few days. I'll stay quiet, but if you double cross me lady that brat won't be able to save you from all the things I'll do to you."

"It's a deal then." Kagome said. She gulped as Kenshin relaxed. The dream state finally dissolved and she awoke in her own body. It was still hours before dawn, so she meditated for another hour before rising. She dressed in her white gi and red hakama before making her way towards the kitchen; she might as well look like a priestess.


	2. Revelations

**A/N:** I do not own Inuyasha OR Rurouni Kenshin. I do however own a big DVD collection of each and horrendous amounts of merchandise, so please don't sue I'm a loyal customer.

Chapter 2. Revelations 

Kaoru stretched for a moment before getting up. She could tell it was still early, but Kenshin was obviously already awake from the smell emanating from the direction of the kitchen. If the aroma was to be believed this morning's breakfast was going to be exceptionally good.

Kaoru yawned and got up and dressed for the day. She put on her sparring clothes, and pulled back her hair. Yahiko needed a good trashing for his attitude he'd had lately and a full day of training would be just the excuse she needed. Fortunately Megumi would be here tending Sano at least for the rest of the day, and that meant she could treat Yahiko once Kaoru was done administering 'corrective training'.

Kaoru started past the room where Yahiko was still asleep. She knocked on the door lightly before opening it. Yahiko had nearly gone berserk the last time she opened his door without knocking. Yahiko was still asleep and was just beginning to stir. Kaoru crept over to his futon in the dim morning light and slapped the floor with her hand loudly next to his head.

"WAKE UP YAHIKO!" Kaoru cried loudly right next to his ear.

Yahiko sat upright so fast he nearly left his yukata behind on the floor. He grabbed his blanket and looked at Kaoru with unmistakable fury in his eyes. "Kaoru, I was trying to sleep! You may have given up on beauty sleep, but the rest of us still like a full night's rest!"

"You just get ready for training. Kenshin nearly has breakfast done and after that we're going to have a full day of training." Kaoru said with gleam in her eye.

"Why don't you ever knock?" Yahiko said hotly.

"I did, you just weren't awake enough to hear it." Kaoru said sweetly. Then she noticed something. "Yahiko, why are you blushing?"

"Never mind, just get out will ya'!" Yahiko pleaded.

Kaoru shrugged and left Yahiko to get ready and started back towards the kitchen. She was passing the spare room where Sano was recovering and saw Megumi desperately trying to get Sano to lay back down.

"I'm telling you it couldn't have healed by now!" Megumi was saying pushing down on Sano's shoulders.

"Well, I'm still alive, so the thing must have just missed my heart by a hair. It must not have gone in as deeply as I thought it had. I hope it leaves a cool scar though." Sano was saying trying to sit up against Megumi's weight.

Kaoru left the two of them to their little "scuffle" and went on towards the kitchen. As she passed Kenshin's room she heard a loud snore coming from inside. _Who's in Kenshin's room? He doesn't snore, and from the smell of things he's already in the kitchen._ Kaoru thought a moment. It definitely sounded like a man, but Yahiko and Sano were accounted for. Kaoru headed out for the kitchen again. Maybe Kenshin could explain.

"Kenshin, who's sleeping in your room?" Kaoru said as she walked into the kitchen. She stopped at the door as she looked up to see that it was Kagome in the kitchen.

"Kenshin's probably the one in his room." Kagome said happily as she prepared breakfast.

Kaoru tried to get a grip on the situation and failed. "Why are you making breakfast Ms. Kagome?"

"I like cooking and Kenshin sounded like he was pretty comfortable." Kagome said smiling to Kaoru.

Kaoru came in and looked at the meal she had prepared. "I didn't think we had this much food in the house."

"Oh, I had some things in my pack I got out. I thought it would be the least I could do after Sano saved me and you let me stay here last night. Sano will need all the nourishment he can get if he's going to heal properly." Kagome said as she bustled around preparing things to eat.

Kaoru nodded numbly. "I didn't even know Kenshin snored."

"Men generally do when their exhausted. I don't think he's rested well in quite some time." Kagome started filling trays with food for the household. "Maybe we should let him sleep for a little while longer. We can save him some for later."

Kaoru helped Kagome bring the food to the table. Yahiko was already there and so were Megumi and Sanosuke. For once, Sano and Yahiko didn't fight over breakfast. For one, Sano was still bandaged, and for two there was more than either of them could eat, which was saying a lot for the two young men.

"Where's Kenshin?" Yahiko asked suddenly between mouthfuls.

"He's still sleeping." Kaoru said quietly. "I guess he's been working pretty hard lately. I'll take him some food in a little while. I think I might let him rest today, I might not be the best cook, but at least I can get the laundry done."

Everyone looked at Kenshin's place at the table. It was odd to eat not having him there to fill it. The rest of the meal passed quietly, which was a first for the dojo. There was nearly always a battle going on between at least two of them and frequently three or four.

Kaoru watched the meal in confusion. Everyone seemed to be lost in his or her own thoughts. Finally everyone was done and she helped Kagome clear everything away. "Yahiko, go into the practice hall and start two hundred swings. I'll be there before you're done."

Kaoru and Kagome loaded up a tray with food left over from breakfast and went to Kenshin's room. Kaoru stopped at the door. She could still hear Kenshin inside snoring. She had never gone into his room while he was sleeping before. He was usually up long before she was and slept after she did.

Kagome prodded Kaoru. "Go on, I'm sure he won't bite."

Kaoru took a deep breath and opened the door. She looked around until she finally found Kenshin sitting up with his sword propped on his shoulder and his back to the wall. He was sound asleep.

"I swear, men and their silly habits." Kagome said as she walked over to Kenshin. Kaoru started to warn her as she plucked Kenshin's sword from his grip and propped it in the opposite corner. "You better wake him. He might be startled otherwise."

Kaoru nodded and sat the tray next to Kenshin before kneeling down next to him on the opposite side. "Kenshin, wake up." Kaoru said softly. Kenshin stopped snoring for a moment stirred slightly.

"Not right now Kaoru, let's sleep a while longer." Kenshin said sleepily. Kaoru was blushing about as brightly as Kenshin's gi. Kagome cleared her throat and Kenshin popped awake with a sudden rush.

Kenshin went for his sword, but it wasn't there. He looked around, but didn't relax until Kaoru put a hand on his arm. He finally realized where he was and allowed Kaoru to settle him back against the wall.

"I overslept!" Kenshin asked in amazement. "I'm sorry Ms. Kaoru! I'll go fix breakfast immediately!"

"It's alright Kenshin, Ms. Kagome made breakfast." Kaoru said softly.

Kenshin turned to look up at Kagome. "It's you." He said startled.

"Who else would it be?" Kagome said laughing. "Sorry to disturb your rose-scented dreams, but you don't need to sleep all day, or else you'll never be able to sleep tonight."

"Rose-scented dreams?" Kenshin said quietly, and then he looked up with a terrified expression. "What did you do to me?"

Kagome smiled at the two of them as she turned to leave. "You two look like you need to talk. I'll go take care of Yahiko and the others."

Kenshin sat there quietly as Kagome left the room. He looked over at Kaoru who could still feel the warmth of her blush on her cheeks. She didn't know what Kenshin meant by what he had said to Kagome, but something more important was on her mind.

Long moments seemed to pass as the two of them sat there in the uncomfortable silence. Finally, Kaoru couldn't stand it any longer. "Kenshin, you said something before you woke up. You said 'let's sleep a while longer' and you used my name without calling me Ms. Kaoru."

Kenshin looked horror-stricken. "I'm sorry, Ms. Kaoru. This unworthy one did not mean any disrespect."

"Kenshin, it's alright. Please tell me what you were dreaming about when we woke you up." Kaoru said pleadingly. She had wanted to hear words like that from Kenshin and had even had dreams like that herself. If he had the same dreams, maybe he might actually return her feelings.

"I can't Ms. Kaoru. I'm sorry. It won't happen again." Kenshin was practically groveling with his head on the floor.

Kaoru reached out and pulled Kenshin up to face her. He looked ready to cry. "Kenshin, why won't you tell me?"

"I am only trying to protect you Ms. Kaoru." Kenshin said desperately.

Long moments passed as Kaoru looked deep into Kenshin's eyes. He was hurting and there was nothing she could do to stop the pain. "From who Kenshin?"

"From me."

Kaoru looked at Kenshin. She wanted to kiss him so badly and to tell him that he would never hurt her, but she didn't want to scare him away by being too forward. She had finally decided to risk it when they heard the crash.

Kagome walked back to the dojo practice hall where Yahiko was finishing his swings. Megumi had already left for the clinic leaving Sano to watch Yahiko. Sano looked extremely bored, but Yahiko was nearly complete.

Kagome came in and sat down next to Sanosuke as Yahiko finished. "So where's ugly? She was supposed to be in here before I got done with my swings."

"She'll be along in a minute. I thought you might like to show me how your studies are progressing little Yahiko." Kagome said politely.

"DON'T CALL ME LITTLE!" Yahiko shrieked. Sano could barely contain his laughter.

"Yahiko is a little bit touchy about being called 'little'. Isn't that right, little Yahiko?" Sano said as he grabbed the end of the sword that had been aimed squarely at his red headband. Injury or no injury, Yahiko definitely wasn't letting that one slide.

"You shouldn't do that Yahiko." Kagome said sternly.

"Yeah, well, he was asking for it." Yahiko said gruffly.

"No, I mean get offended when someone calls you little. You should appreciate your youth while you have it or else someday you'll turn around and realize that you missed it because you were too busy trying to be grown." Kagome said sagely.

"Look lady, I didn't have much of a childhood to begin with, I grew up stealing from people on the streets. I had to grow up fast." Yahiko said hotly.

Sano actually growled. "You should show more respect Yahiko. She's only trying to help you and she's a priestess, so be more polite."

"You're one to talk." Yahiko said snidely.

"My what interesting, people you keep company with Higurashi. You won't get the chance to paralyze me again."

Kagome turned toward the owner of the voice, as did Sano and Yahiko. "What are you doing here, Saitoh?" Sanosuke said disgustedly. "Aren't there any little old ladies you need to arrest?"

Kagome looked at Saitoh and slowly got to her feet. She noticed that the sword he was carrying was the same one from the demon yesterday. _Oh, no. I should have destroyed THAT thing instead._

Kagome jumped to the side as Saitoh attacked. The fighting style was different from yesterday, so it only made her feel worse about killing the person that had attacked her. If she was right, the man could have easily been an innocent bystander.

Sano and Yahiko were apparently stunned to see Saitoh attack someone openly in the dojo. The two of them barely got out of the way as Saitoh barreled past them and slashed at Kagome. Kagome knocked over a rack of wooden swords as she dodged, sending most of them crashing to the floor.

Saitoh followed her relentlessly as she danced around him slashing for her head and face at every opportunity. Kagome picked up a wooden sword. She didn't want to kill this man since the sword probably possessed him.

In a moment the crash brought Kenshin and Kaoru from his room. Kagome nearly swore under her breath, she'd have to start from scratch to keep the promise she'd made to help the swordsman. Life would be SO much simpler if demons would stop hunting her every step.

Kenshin pulled his reverse blade sword and stepped into the hall. "Saitoh, I don't know what business you have with Ms. Kagome, but you'll have to deal with me first if you try to harm anyone staying under this roof. You…"

"Oh, shut up you pathetic little monkey." The demon hissed as it lunged for Kenshin.

Kenshin blocked the swipe with the sword and countered. The demon was quick to parry his attack. For a moment the two of them crossed their swords, locking the two of them together. The demon reached out and grabbed the front of Kenshin's gi. Kenshin was shocked as the demon then lifted him with one arm and rammed his head into the ceiling before tossing him into the far wall.

Kagome turned to Yahiko who looked as if he were watching a wolf devour small children. "Yahiko, run get my pack! Quickly!"

This seemed to unfreeze Yahiko and he sprang towards the door to comply. The demon turned and saw Yahiko trying to leave the room.

Kagome jumped between him and the boy and raised her wooden sword. She began to concentrate and the sword began to glow with a nimbus of power. She wasn't any good with a sword, but she could at least keep him busy.

"Give it up, girl. This body has ten times the skill of my old one. My lord, will have the jewel!" The demon sneered, as he made ready to attack her.

"Hiten Mitsarugi Style, AMAKAKERU RYU NO HIRAMEKI!"

Kagome watched as Kenshin lunged forward at the demon. The demon however was too swift. "Too slow, monkey." The demon moved aside as Kenshin's sword cleft the air where it had been standing. With demonic agility and speed it crouched and thrust it sword with its left hand burying it into Kenshin shoulder as Kenshin tried desperately to dodge.

Kenshin grabbed the blade looking up at the demon. It was the break Kagome was looking for. She brought the wooden sword down on the back of the demons head as it tried to wrest the blade away from Kenshin.

The demon fell unconscious for a moment as Yahiko came running in with her backpack. "Quick Yahiko, bring it here!"

"Kenshin!" Kaoru cried reaching for the blade buried in his shoulder.

"DON'T TOUCH IT!" Kagome screamed knocking Kaoru's hand away.

Kagome reached into her pack until she found the scroll case she kept there. She quickly rifled through them until she found the one she need. She chanted a few select phrases before slapping the thing down on the demons head. She then got out a clean cloth from her pack that she used to pull the sword out of Kenshin and wrap it up.

"What's going on here?" Sano said. "I've never seen anybody dodge Kenshin's ultimate attack, and why is your sword glowing?"

"Forget that," Yahiko piped in, "what's that scroll on Saitoh's face and what's wrong with his face? It looks like it's fading away!"

"That could only be an improvement." Sano said dryly.

Kagome looked at Saitoh. Sure enough, his face had started to disappear. "It's hard to explain right now." Kagome said as she examined the sword. No doubt about it, the demon was housed inside the blade. The sword looked like it wouldn't be broken by normal means either.

Kagome sighed. This really complicated matters. If what the demon said was true he wasn't working alone. There were probably more about. If she left these people alone now they were as good as dead.

"I guess you people will have to come with me." Kagome said sadly. Kenshin was just starting to rise. There was a pool of blood collecting under his shoulder.

"Then it WAS you I saw in my dreams last night." Kenshin said trying to rise. "What did you do to me? I feel like I'm trying to fight underwater."

"I turned your fighting spirit off." Kagome said simply as she rummaged through her pack for the Tensaiga. "Here hold still."

Kagome pulled out the sword and everyone gathered around Kenshin. "We aren't letting you anywhere near him until you explain yourself." Kaoru said fiercely.

Kagome sighed once again. "OK, I'll explain, but you have to let me heal him. This sword can't hurt anybody, you're going to have to trust me."

The three of them parted uneasily as Kagome reached Kenshin. She placed the tip of the blade on the shoulder wound. The flesh immediately began to mend underneath the blade and soon Kenshin was able to stand.

"That sword yesterday didn't miss my heart did it?" Sano said seriously. "You used that thing after I lost consciousness."

"Actually, I used it after you were dead." Kagome said seriously. "I didn't feel right leaving you there when you thought you were protecting me."

Kagome stood up and looked around. "There's only one place I can think of to dispose of this sword. I need to go there to dispose of it. There may be more of those things around so I can't leave any of you here or you'll be killed. Please, come with me and I'll explain everything once we're safe."

The four of them nodded and Kagome moved out onto the porch. "Please follow me, and could one of you bring Saitoh?"

Sano picked up Saitoh on his back. "What if this scroll falls off?"

"It won't fall off until I remove it and Saitoh won't wake up until I do." Kagome said over her shoulder.

The four of them joined her on the porch as she held her finger up to her eye. The four of them watched as energy danced between her finger and her eye. Finally, a small black orb about the size of a pearl seemed to appear out of Kagome's right eye.

Kagome pointed in front of her and the orb flew a few feet before expanding into a black oval portal. "Come on, we don't need to dally around here." Kagome said looking back to the five people she had in tow.

Everyone on the porch was rooted in place. Sano especially was looking ready to bolt at the first loud noise. Kaoru had a hold on Kenshin's arm that looked like it could cut off circulation and Yahiko was openly cowering behind Kaoru.

"It's alright, I'm here." Kagome said slowly. "This is just a portal, now move."

The five of them took some prodding, especially Sano, but she finally got the five of them pushed through the portal to the other side. On the other side Kagome looked around. It had been some time since she'd been here last. They were standing on a hill overlooking a vast plain with what looked like giant rib bones sticking up into the air. Everywhere flowers were blooming and ivy climbed up the towering bones.

No one seemed to be any more relaxed now that they were safe. "Finally, we're safe."

"You call THIS safe?" Sano said looking out over the landscape.

"Yeah, what's wrong with it?" Kagome said looking out at the ten-story skeleton in armor. Yeah, she'd tried to make the place a little more like home, which had resulted in a look that she liked to call 'Dracula meets the Care Bears', but she did her best. It wasn't her fault that Inuyasha had refused to bury his father.

"Nothing's wrong with it if you like graveyards I suppose." Sano said looking like he was going to be sick.

"Hey buster, this is my home so show some courtesy." Kagome said genuinely hurt. "You hardly notice the tomb after you've been here a while."

"That thing's a tomb?" Yahiko said going white.

"Yes, it's the body of a friend of mine's father. He died centuries ago and created this place so he would have a quiet place for his body to remain." Kagome said looking out at the massive skull.

"And you CHOOSE to live here?" Yahiko said abruptly.

"Yes, I do. We're in what you might call a pocket dimension. Most demons don't know this place exists, so they don't even know how to come looking for it. I took up residence here after Inuyasha died." Kagome said sadly. "Come on, we better get going. It's a half day's walk to my cottage."

"Ms. Kagome, who's Inuyasha?" Kaoru said as she walked alongside Kagome.

"He was a half-demon friend of mine. He died a long time ago." Kagome said as she walked down the path to her home.

"He was a half-demon?" Kenshin asked. "That's what took control of Saitoh isn't it?"

"Yeah, I was attacked yesterday by the demon that lives in the sword that Saitoh was carrying. I didn't realize that it was the sword controlling the body or else I wouldn't have destroyed the man wielding it." Kagome explained. "Here, let me sum it up for you. I am a guardian. I guard a very special talisman that the demons are trying to take from me by force. I have to fight them occasionally. I come here to relax and to regroup when I must, but I don't stay here long because I don't want the demons finding out it exists."

Kagome looked up at the bones sticking up from the ground. It didn't look so bad from down here. It just looked like some large ivory spires. Maybe great big bony rib looking spires, but spires none-the-less.

"How long have you been guarding this talisman?" Kaoru asked politely.

"A few centuries now. I loose track of the exact number of years. After the first few decades it felt like I was checking off a prison sentence so I stopped." Kagome replied.

"Wow, you look pretty good for an old lady." Sano said with a smirk. "You look about fifteen."

"Yeah, you noticed that yesterday." Kagome said hotly. "The truth is I stopped aging about the same time I was exposed to the jewel, that's the talisman I guard. Ever since then I haven't aged a day. I stopped going home, once my brother Sota got married and had children. He stayed in the temple until some sort of cataclysm destroyed the temple and his family. They were the last tie that I had to the future, so I stopped traveling back to my own time after that."

"Your own time?" Sano asked.

"Yeah, I was born in the year 1987, in Tokyo. I was pulled back in time to the feudal era of Japan and was forced to fight a bunch of demons with my friends. We eventually beat them and destroyed the gates they were using to come into our world, but the result also sealed the portal I used to travel back to my own time. I've been around ever since." Kagome said.

"Wait a minute, that's nearly 100 years into our future. You mean you know what's going to happen in the next 100 years?" Yahiko said, incredulous.

"Yeah, basically. I don't know a lot of details, but I know the general history." Kagome said looking back at Yahiko.

The five of them finally came to the base of the large skeleton in armor. Not far from the base a large cottage had been erected. Kagome walked up an opened the door. "Right this way. We'll put Saitoh in my study, there I can try to break the demon's hold on him."

"Ms. Kagome, how did you come to possess such wondrous powers?" Kenshin asked looking around the house as they went in.

"I was taught, by several different people actually. Most of my knowledge of herbs and medicines came from Lady Kaede, who was the priestess who guarded the small village that later became Tokyo. A friend of mine, Miroku, taught me how to erect a shield and write spells. Inuyasha showed me a few combative powers, and Shippou taught me his fox magic. I've accumulated a few other little abilities and techniques along the way and added them to my own." Kagome said. She couldn't help but feel proud. There were a lot of men who claimed to be wizards that didn't have half the power she had.

Kagome brought them into her study and pointed at the couch. "Put Saitoh over there, I'll have to research an exorcism. Then I'll go seal the sword in the tomb with Tokijin. You might as well make yourselves at home, I'm probably going to be a while."

Kenshin watched the stars and tried to find some that were recognizable, and failed. Kagome had worked most of the day leaving them to wander the garden. Finally, she had come out of her study to announce that Saitoh was going to recover.

"I'm going to leave him unconscious until we leave. I don't want to have to explain myself all over again. He won't remember anything from the time he was possessed so we'll have to make up a pretty convincing story." Kagome said rubbing her eyes. She held the demon sword with the cloth that she had brought with them. "I'm going into the tomb, and then I suggest we all get some sleep. I'm going to seal this demon away so he can't harm anyone again."

Kenshin watched as Kagome disappeared in the direction of the skeleton. He really didn't like the look of the thing, but then it HAD been a pretty weird day. He felt rather than heard Kaoru approach.

"Kenshin?" Her tone was one of those "we need to talk" tones, so Kenshin tried his best "I have no idea what you want" looks. It too failed.

"Yes, Ms. Kaoru?" He said lamely.

"Kenshin, we never did get to finish our talk this morning." Kaoru said looking down at her feet.

Kenshin had been dreading this all day. He had hoped that the surprises would never stop just so he could avoid this moment. "You're wondering why I said that I was protecting you from me." He said solemnly.

"Yes, Kenshin, I know you would never hurt…"

"You're wrong." Kenshin said sharply. This was killing him, but he had to do it for her own good. "Ms. Kaoru I can't control myself when I become violent. I've killed people that were close to me before and I wasn't able to stop myself. Kaoru, if I were to ever become that unstable I would have to leave to keep you from being killed by the one person I can't protect you from. I used to think that I could stop myself, or that I could kill the man I was that is still inside of me, but I can't. Please understand."

Kenshin walked away quickly to keep her from seeing the hurt in his eyes. "I'm going to go sleep outside tonight. I didn't look like Ms. Kagome has that many rooms for guests."

Kagome walked into the crypt. It had been nearly ten years. She walked past their graves as she walked toward the vault where she kept the most dangerous items. After Sesshomaru died she'd managed to hide his sword here. She still carried Tensaiga, but she had never felt right about carrying Tetsaiga so she had ensconced it here as well. Miroku's staff and Sango's boomerang were also here, more as mementos than anything else. Everything was still as she laid the sword into a spare case and sealed it with a spell. She then started back out to the house.

She had almost reached the house when she heard the quiet sobbing. She walked into the garden to find Kaoru deep in tears. "Kaoru, what's wrong?"

"I tried to talk to Kenshin, but he just pushed me away!" Kaoru said between sobs. "It's like he's a different person, he's never been that distant before."

Kaoru sighed and sat down next to her. "I'm sure it'll be alright, Kaoru."

Kaoru continued to sob and looked up into Kagome's face. "How does a priestess know about man trouble?" She said defiantly.

"I know plenty. I've had to deal with my fair share of hardheaded men, believe me. Like I told Sano, I haven't served as a priestess in a long time. I know what its like to love someone."

"You were in love?" Kaoru asked sadly.

"Yes, and I've been married. Loosing them were the worst times I've ever had to face." Kagome said looking back towards the tombs.

"Who were they?" Kaoru continued.

"My first husband's name was Inuyasha. He and I had the most turbulent relationship in the history of the world. Still, I loved him. He was killed protecting me. That's why I swore I would learn all that I could so that no one would ever have to die to protect me again. It didn't happen that way though. Three men have died protecting me, and all three were my husbands." Kagome nearly cried a little herself. It hurt to bring back the memories.

"Anyway, after Inuyasha died I was trying to protect the jewel and raise a fox demon named Shippou. It was a tough time for me and I ended up marrying my second husband more out of convenience. Kouga was a wolf demon and he had proclaimed his love for me, loudly, even before Inuyasha and I were married. I felt sorry for him because when he declared me as his mate he couldn't take another by the laws of his tribe. He was a good man at heart and he gave me and Shippou a safe place to stay while Shippou was growing up." Kagome leaned back and remembered those times. Ayame had been so hurt. Thankfully, Ginta had managed to make her at least reasonably happy. She'd definitely born him enough pups.

"Why did you marry him if you didn't love him?" Kaoru asked, seeming to forget her own sorrow.

"I thought I'd never love again after Inuyasha died. I guess looking back on it though I really did love Kouga. I wish I had told him that more, now. He died because our tribe was attacked by demons looking for the jewel. We won the war, but Kouga was killed. I left the tribe shortly after that." Kagome said sadly.

"The last man I loved was Shippou. I encountered him when I first came to the past. He was only a little boy then, and I carried him around like my own living doll. He had lost his parents and Inuyasha and I sort of adopted him. I watched him grow up and become a strong young man. After Inuyasha died he stayed with me and I pretty much raised him. After a while I realized that I didn't see him as the little boy he had been. It took a long time for me to realize I was in love with him, and then to realize he loved me in return. I have never been so tempted to give up my charge than I was then, even if it did mean becoming mortal again." Kagome let the tears fall now.

"You didn't give up your duty for him?" Kaoru asked, perplexed.

"I wanted to, but Shippou wouldn't let me. He told me that we'd never find someone as capable as I to guard the jewel. Reluctantly, I agreed on the condition that if we ever found someone who could be taught, that I would teach them and then I would give up my duty to be with him and grow old. We simply never found anyone." Kagome looked over at Kaoru.

"Well, that's enough about my problems. You've got some of your own, and I guess that's my fault. He IS a different person." Kagome said miserably.

Kaoru looked at her sharply. "What do you mean?"

"I entered his dreams last night while I was checking all of you out. I didn't know you and I wanted to make sure that you weren't going to turn on me or anything like that. I got trapped in side Kenshin's dreams and saw a few things I probably shouldn't have." Kagome said sadly.

"What did you see?" Kaoru said anxiously.

"I'll have to let Kenshin explain that to you when he's ready, but suffice to say he once hurt someone very close to him and now he won't let himself get close to anyone for fear that he'll hurt them too." Kagome explained. "While I was there I spoke with his two different halves. There was the kind and gentle side, and then there was the fierce and violent side, they both wanted me to destroy the other so they could have control."

Kaoru nodded. "But why did Kenshin push me away? He doesn't love me, is that it?"

Kagome thought about it for a moment. "It's because Kenshin needs both halves of his being to be in harmony or else he'll never know peace. If he loses either one he'll only be a hollow shell of his former self. I convinced his violent half to give me a few days to try to get his gentle half brought around to this realization but it looks like I've failed. His violent side tends to be the more emotional of the two and also gives him added strength in combat. That must have been why he wasn't very effective against Saitoh. I can only assume that his feelings for you are pent up inside THAT half of his being. As long as that half is dormant, he rules himself with his mind instead of his heart, which diminishes his skill as a fighter and his feelings for you."

Kaoru seemed to be deep in thought. "Kagome, can you help me?"

"If I can, what do you want?" Kagome asked slowly.

"Can you let me get into Kenshin's dreams? I have to know for myself what he's hiding and to know if he really loves me." Kaoru said with determination settling into her voice.

"Absolutely not, Kaoru. You don't understand what you're asking for. If I were to put you in there you'd be totally at his mercy. You'd never be able to leave until he allowed you to or he woke up. He could kill you and while your body would be alive, your soul would be gone." Kagome could already tell though that her argument was falling on deaf ears.

"Kenshin would never intentionally hurt me, I have to believe that. If he does, then I don't think I could live with the thought of not having him return my love anyway. I love him and he's worth dying for." Kaoru said resolutely.

Kagome stared at her for a few minutes. "Perhaps there's another way." Kagome said nervously.

Kaoru stared at Kagome intently waiting for her explanation. Kagome sorted her thoughts, and finally had a plan that might be feasible. "Like I told you, going into someone's dreams leaves you vulnerable. You are at the mercy of the dreamer since you inhabit their reality. If however, I can manage to get Kenshin into YOUR dreams you would at the very least be able to defend yourself."

Kaoru though about this for a few minutes, Kagome began to worry that she was going to reject idea when she finally nodded. "As long as I can finally put an end to this. I must know how Kenshin feels. I can't do that if he's always turning away."

"He won't be able to run from you in your dreams, but be careful. If you try to impress your vision of what he should be on him too much you could end up destroying him just as easily as he could have destroyed you." Kagome said seriously. "The waking dream state is no place for idle thoughts. You must be focused, do you understand?"

Kagome waited until she had extracted an affirmative nod from Kaoru. "Now go inside and sleep for a while. You'll see Kenshin in your dreams tonight if I am successful."

Kagome watched Kaoru get up and go towards the house before she got up to go look for Kenshin. She had royally gotten things muddled and it was going to take a miracle to pull this one out of the fire.

She found Kenshin in a small quiet part of her garden she usually reserved for meditation. He was asleep, or at least trying to be. Kagome recognized what was going on immediately. His two halves were trying to kill each other. Kenshin tossed back and forth in a fit as if a seizure had taken him. Kagome began to concentrate from a safe distance as he curled into a ball where he lay.

"WHERE are you, you little BRAT!" Kenshin shouted as he stalked the dojo grounds. Kagome looked around horrified to realize he was now free. "I'll kill you for what you've done Shinta!"

Kagome hid until Kenshin moved toward the back of the house. Finally she looked around to find Shinta. She didn't have to look far. Under a laundry tub she found the little boy cowering. "Shinta, how did Kenshin break free?" Kagome said whispering as she heard Kenshin crashing through the kitchen.

"While he was asleep I took the opportunity to slip away. I was able to do what he would never let me do. I sent Kaoru away." Shinta said crying. "I didn't want to, but I thought it was the only way to keep her safe. When he discovered what I did he broke free of the chains and came after me. Please, help me. You've got to destroy him. If he chains me he'll be in control again and Ms. Kaoru will never be safe."

Kagome thought about this for a moment. "Shinta, how did you manage to keep him chained before?"

"I don't know. It was always easy to keep him chained at the dojo. My only problem was Saitoh. He hates Saitoh. If I had run across Saitoh before coming to the dojo I never would have been able to hold him." Shinta cowered even more miserably than before.

Things began to become clearer and clearer to Kagome as she thought about it. It made some things simpler, while making others complex. Kagome thought about it and then stood up. She'd prepared this ahead of time; she hoped it work like she hoped. Kagome focused her strength and let her mind wander for a moment before reaching down to pick up Shinta.

"What are you doing? He'll see us!" Shinta cried as she lifted him up.

"I already have seen you, whelp!" Kenshin snarled as he lunged after them.

The shift was almost imperceptible. They were still at the dojo, but the scene shifted. It went from dark with sharp lines to a softer tone that almost radiated warmth. It looked like less of a fortress and more like a home. The two halves of Kenshin didn't even notice until a figure appeared between Kenshin and Kagome.

Kenshin barreled forward with his sword raised. He looked ready to deliver his ultimate technique when Shinta screamed. "NO, NOT AGAIN."

Kenshin jolted back as if struck by a speeding train and slammed into the outer wall of the dojo with twice as many chains slapping him into place. Kenshin looked at his bonds and howled in frustration. "You betrayed me wench! You were only setting me aside so that brat could ruin my life."

"You ruined it yourself a long time ago!" Shinta yelled back hotly.

Kaoru turned to look at Kenshin wrapped in chains against the wall and then turned to Kagome and Shinta. "Am I to assume I'm part of this dream now?" Kaoru said to Kagome.

"Yes, you are. Here Shinta." Kagome said putting him down. "You've got some explaining to do. I'm not going to destroy either of you. You can't leave this place until Kaoru says you can leave."

Kagome turned to Kaoru. "You've got one night to talk out your problems. I'll not do this again. This is only to make up for the mess I made. Whatever shape your relationship is in after this, is up to you two, uh… three."

Kagome turned and stepped out of the dream. She might be curious how things turned out, but she really didn't want to pry.

Kaoru watched as Kagome disappeared. She then turned to look at the two people that now shared her dream. A little boy that looked just like Kenshin, and a version of Kenshin that look like it just stepped out of a nightmare, where he was the primary reason to be feared.

"So why are you called Shinta little one?" Kaoru asked to the diminutive version of Kenshin.

"Please, I can't say. You have to get rid of him. You have to let me destroy him." The little boy pleaded.

"I'll do no such thing until you start answering my questions." Kaoru said firmly.

"Shinta is my real name. Master Hiko was the one that named him Kenshin." The little boy finally said on the verge of tears.

A howling laughter brought Kaoru's attention to the other form in her dream. Kenshin pulled futilely against his restraints trying to reach her. "He said it was no name for a swordsman, and he was right." Kenshin spat at Shinta. "Let me loose you little weakling. I've wanted this for a long time now and you're going to give it to me or I swear you'll never rest again! I'll haunt you until I finally get free and destroy anyone who gets in my way!"

Kaoru looked at the animalistic version of Kenshin and shivered. He was an absolute animal, pure instinct. He had no reservations, inhibitions, or remorse; he was simply acting on his desires and his wants. It also didn't take her long to tell from his look what he was wanting.

"Are you the part of Kenshin that desires me?" Kaoru asked worriedly.

"YES!" Kenshin howled in animalistic lust. "Release me woman and I swear you'll not regret it. I'll drive you mad with desire and I'll make your skin burn at my touch."

"You leave her alone!" Shinta cried defiantly. "I'll never let you mark her with your taint."

Kenshin howled as he pulled against the chains trying to reach Shinta. Kaoru looked at him and then finally decided on her course of action. "I'll be back to talk to you in just a moment." Kaoru said, scooping up Shinta.

Kaoru carried Shinta away from the now raging Kenshin and took him to a quiet area of the garden around the dojo. She finally sat and then put Shinta in her lap facing away before she hugged him close. "Shinta, you and I need to talk."

"Yes, Ms. Kaoru." Shinta said obediently. It reminded Kaoru of the times when Kenshin was taking her orders to clean the dojo. Kaoru thought about it for a moment before she continued to speak.

"How do you feel about me?" Kaoru said innocently.

Shinta was startled, but recovered quite quickly. "I like you a lot Ms. Kaoru. I'd do anything to protect you. Don't worry, I'll never let him hurt you." At this Shinta cast his eyes down and seemed to grow sad. "Even if it means I have to leave you."

Kaoru tried to control her own pain at the words and pressed on. "Shinta, don't you know that this would hurt me too, that you would be hurting me?"

"I'd never hurt you Ms. Kaoru!" Shinta cried turning in her lap to stare up into her eyes. "But if I don't go, he'll hurt you."

Kaoru thought about this for a moment and then tried a different approach. If she could only get a confession of love from this Shinta, she'd be able to understand Kenshin's true feelings. She had already established attraction, the nightmare Kenshin was proof of that, and she just needed more from their relationship. "I'm willing to risk it for you Shinta." Kaoru gathered her courage and pressed on. She only had this one shot and she had to make it count. "I care a lot about you Shinta. I even care a lot about Kenshin too. I just want to know how YOU feel."

Shinta looked to be on the verge of crying. "I don't know." He said as he burst in to tears finally.

Kaoru swore under her breath and pulled him close to comfort him. He cried for quite some time before he settled down. Kaoru was very gentle as she continued. "Please tell me what you mean, Shinta."

Shinta whimpered but continued. "I was just a little boy when my parents died and I was sold into slavery. Bandits attacked the slavers and I was the only one left alive because Master Hiko saved me. I think it was the last time I remember being without him." Shinta gestured towards the nightmare Kenshin. "Master Hiko began to train us. While I was in control most of the time, he came out during training. I thought I could use him for good when the wars started but I was wrong. He took control and locked me away. I don't understand emotions the way he does. He can use them as weapons. He can sense them while I cannot. I can't even understand my own!"

Shinta began once again to cry as he clung tightly to Kaoru. He finally began to regain his composure and started again. "There was a time when he let me free. We had met a woman named Tomoe. He could not understand the new feelings he felt around her and he sought my aid. She mastered him and he let me free to understand her, because he can't understand anything by himself. All he can do is act on instinct. That was when he killed her, and I couldn't do anything to stop him."

Shinta broke down again as Kaoru absorbed all she was being told. She laid Shinta down and then stood up. "Shinta stay here. I'm going to go talk to Kenshin."

Shinta looked up as if to stop her, but finally nodded and went back to crying. 'Sorrow is apparently something both of his sides are familiar with.' Kaoru thought to herself.

Kaoru found Kenshin bound where she left him, only now he was sobbing loudly and looked ready to die of grief. This confirmed her suspicions about the two, but left a lot of unanswered questions. "That brat told you about Tomoe didn't he! He and I feel the same things. His grief is my grief. Please, kill me. Kill me now, before I have to feel this anymore."

Kaoru looked at him and pulled herself together. She'd never had to deal with an emotional Kenshin before. She was more used to dealing with a Kenshin that acted more like Shinta around her. "Why did you kill Tomoe?"

The change in Kenshin was immediate. "I DIDN'T MEAN TO KILL HER!" Kenshin screamed as he pulled against the chains holding him in place. "She jumped in the way trying to protect me from being killed by my opponent!"

"I couldn't stop her!" Kenshin cried as he sank back into bitter sorrow. "I wasn't strong enough. I WASN"T GOOD ENOUGH FOR HER!" He cried as he sank back to wailing. "She finished the scar on my cheek. Every time I look at it I think of her and that little brat torments me."

Kaoru tried to keep from crying herself. "He can only feel what you feel. You feel anger at yourself and so he feels the same anger. You can't control the anger, and he doesn't want to, so you hate yourself."

Kenshin looked up from the tears that streaked his face. "Wouldn't YOU! If you had lost everything you loved." Kenshin said sobbing.

Kaoru sighed and looked at Kenshin. He wasn't any more a monster than any other man. He held the passions of Kenshin and some of those passions might be dark, but he was still only a man. Kaoru went back to the garden and scooped up Shinta and brought him back to Kenshin. She didn't know how much time she had left, so she hoped that this worked.

"Kenshin I'm going to release you." Kaoru said finally.

Shinta jumped as if he'd been kicked. "No you can't!"

"Yes, I can Shinta. Kenshin and I are never going to work this out between us and discover what our true feelings are unless you two are free to work together." Kaoru said to the frightened boy. She took this to mean that the emotional side of Kenshin was also apprehensive.

"I do however, have conditions." Kaoru said looking at Kenshin.

"What kind of conditions?" They both asked in unison. It was amazing how when they spoke it sounded like Kenshin's real voice.

"As long as you aren't in total control Shinta, I know that Kenshin will never leave me." 'I hope.' Kaoru thought.

"But I'm not allowing you to take control, Kenshin." Kaoru said to the chained figure of her beloved samurai. "If you attempt to take control, Shinta and I are going to chain you back and you'll never break free. I want you free, but only to teach Shinta about the feelings he's been missing out on. Then maybe the two of you might be one again. Shinta said that Tomoe once mastered you. Will you let me master you as well?"

Kenshin looked at her and nodded. "You are and always have been my mistress. You alone are the one force in the universe before which I must bow."

Kaoru walked up to Kenshin and removed his chains from the wall. The fell quickly in her grasp until only one remained which leashed him to her. Kaoru looked around and carried him to her room. She had a pretty good idea what Kenshin had been dreaming about and she wanted in on it. "Come here Shinta."

Shinta obediently walked over to her and looked up at her. "We're all going to sleep now like one big family." Kaoru lay down and pulled Shinta close to her. In her dream state is was amazing how their clothing shifted to night attire and the futon had been laid out for them when they got there. Kenshin got into bed behind her and wrapped his arms protectively around her as she cradled Shinta to her breast. The three were asleep almost immediately.

Saitoh woke up. He sat up and looked around. He was at the Kamiya dojo. He could hear voices nearby so he got up and followed the sounds. His head was a blazing mass of pain, but he didn't care.

Saitoh stumbled into the practice hall where the young woman he remembered from the temple was quietly writing things down on some scrolls and the raccoon was sparring with her apprentice.

"Could someone please tell me what's going on?" Saitoh said through the haze.

"Ah, you're finally awake. You're lucky to be alive after the way we found you." The young woman who was writing got up and took a look at his head. "Some guy clubbed you and left you for dead in the streets last night. Kenshin found you and brought you here. What were you doing out there anyway?"

"I don't remember." Saitoh said honestly. "The last thing I remember was going to get the sword out of the evidence locker at the station to look at it."

"Somebody must have taken it from the evidence locker." She said to him.

"Somebody must have taken it from the evidence locker." Saitoh said to himself.

"You must have been trying to catch them last night when you were attacked."

"I must have been trying to catch them last night when I was attacked."

"You guess they got away."

"I guess they got away."

"You really should get back to the station to report this."

"I really should get back to the station to report this." Saitoh said finally as he made his way toward the dojo gate. Whoever stole that sword and nailed him on the head was going to pay once he found them.

"By the way, what is your name young lady?" Saitoh said curiously.

"I'm Kagome Higurashi. I'm a priestess. I have some business that'll be keeping me in Tokyo for a while and Kaoru has been kind enough to offer me a place to stay. Kenshin and Sano said they could help me with the job I have to do here as well. I was just making some sutras to put up around the dojo to protect it from evil spirits." Kagome said sweetly as she bowed.

"Evil spirits, what nonsense." Saitoh said as he headed for the gate. He stopped just on the other side when he heard the Kamiya girl and this Kagome person start laughing.

"Obi Wan Kenobi, eat your heart out." Kagome said happily.


	3. A New Apprentice

**A/N:** I do not own Inuyasha OR Rurouni Kenshin. I do however own a big DVD collection of each and horrendous amounts of merchandise, so please don't sue I'm a loyal customer.

**Chapter 3. A New Apprentice**

"Yahiko get back here!" Kagome could hear Kaoru yelling from down the street. It felt weird this past week setting up shop up the street from the dojo in the old temple that would one day be her home. She had been about to drop the priestess guise and quietly find a place to stay outside the dojo, but apparently Saitoh had mentioned something about a traveling priestess to his superiors.

Now Kagome was staying at the temple at the request of the local politicians who thought that finally having a priestess in the temple was a grand idea. She just hoped that she wasn't somehow one of her own ancestors. That would be too creepy. She had just completed a shiver imagining herself bouncing her baby grandfather on her knee when the aforementioned target of Kaoru's wrath came barreling onto the temple grounds. "Quick Ms. Kagome, please hide me!"

Kagome thought about it for a moment. "Why? What have you been up to?" Kagome said seriously.

"Nothing, I swear! I'm just trying to skip sword practice this morning is all!" Yahiko said plaintively.

"Oh, alright. Hide in there." Kagome directed pointing at one of the buildings. Yahiko was off like a light and had just gotten inside when Kaoru showed up.

Kaoru was out of breath and stood there huffing for a moment before she could talk. "Ms. Kagome, do you know where Yahiko went?" She said between pants.

"He ran by here just a moment ago. If you hurry, you might just catch him." Kagome said as she continued to sweep the steps of the temple.

Kaoru grinned and took of down the street with renewed vigor. Kagome waited until she was gone before she went back toward the temple. "She's gone, so you can come out now." Kagome said to the hiding young man.

"Thank you Ms. Kagome. I've got to go. I'll be late for work." Yahiko said as he started to rush off.

"Work?" Kagome said skeptically. "I thought Kaoru allowed you to work at the Akabeko all the time?"

"I'm not working there. I got a job working in one of the warehouses." Yahiko said happily.

"Still, I don't see Kaoru being too upset over you actually starting to pay for your room and board at the dojo." Kagome said.

Yahiko went white and Kagome was starting to get even more suspicious. "Please don't tell her where I've been going. If she finds out she might actually start expecting me to do just that."

"Then why are you working, Yahiko?" Kagome asked seriously.

"I can't tell you. I gotta go now, bye!" Yahiko said as he bolted off towards the warehouse district.

Kagome watched the young man go and shook her head. Growing up always did have a way of changing people's priorities. She leaned on the broom and thought about it for a moment, and then went back to thinking about her grandfather in diapers.

In front of the Akabeko, Tsubame busied herself sweeping the front of the restaurant. It wasn't very busy today so she had time to entertain her favorite pastime. Sweeping while she was daydreaming of Yahiko. He was standing in front of her with sword out promising to protect her. What was it Tae had called him? Oh yes, her samurai in a shining gi.

Tsubame had to admit this didn't sound much like Yahiko, and she had NO idea how a gi was supposed to shine. Tsubame dropped the thought and went back to imagining Yahiko wrapping his arms around her.

Tsubame was so lost in thought that it took a few minutes for her to realize that Yahiko was indeed standing in front of her and seemed to be saying something.

"Huh?" She managed.

"I said good afternoon, Tsubame." Yahiko said again.

"Oh, hello Yahiko. Is everyone else with you?" Tsubame said while she was thinking 'Please say no. Please say no. Please say no.'

"Naw. Kenshin's cooking." Yahiko started while Tsubame was thinking. 'Thank you.' "I just stopped by to see you. Are you nearly done working?" Yahiko asked anxiously.

"Yes, I'm going to go home soon. If you like you can wait out back for me." Tsubame said shyly.

Yahiko nodded and ran through the back door as fast as he could. Tsubame sighed as she watched him go. He always made it a point to walk her home, even though he hadn't been around the restaurant much of late.

Tsubame sighed and went back to her work. The day had flown by so far, but it seemed like time stood still for the few minutes she had to wait before it was time for her to go home. Finally, Tae nodded to Tsubame who apparently had a look of longing on her face.

Tsubame took off her apron and started towards the back of the restaurant looking for Yahiko. She finally found him in the alley outside.

Tsubame came walking up behind and noticed he was apparently preoccupied with something in his lap. As she approached she could just hear him saying, "Oh, Tsubame."

Confused, Tsubame approached cautiously. Yahiko was obviously preoccupied with whatever he had in his lap and she didn't want to startle him. She was nearly upon him before he heard her and she was surprised as he suddenly hunched over as if to conceal something.

"What are you looking at Yahiko?" Tsubame asked trying to look over his shoulder.

Yahiko tried to turn away from her and looked as if he was trying desperately to shove something down into his pants. "NOTHING! IT'S NOTHING!"

Tsubame finally managed to maneuver around Yahiko until she could see that something long and hard was sticking up underneath his pants. The last thing she remembered was Yahiko leaping up to grab her as everything went black.

Kagome hated sweeping this place. It was amazing that there were places here that would remain unchanged until her native time. Places she'd been assigned to clean for punishment as a child by her grandfather. Now that it was her duty to clean them herself she realized why it had been such a popular punishment and why her grandfather had been so strict as to be able to punish her often. Well, time to scrub the floors.

Kagome had just put her broom away and gotten out the bucket when Yahiko came running up the front stairs of the temple. She had to admit apparently Kaoru was at the very least a pretty good physical fitness coach, because he had some girl on his back while he was running.

"Ms. Kagome! Please help, I can't find Megumi!" Yahiko cried as he came running straight to her. He was out of breath and was obviously frantic. The girl on his back didn't move. "Please save her, I think she's dead!" Yahiko said nearly in tears.

Kagome quickly checked the young girl and realized she'd probably fainted.

"Put her in here Yahiko." Kagome said as she ushered the young boy into her sleeping chamber. Yahiko quickly put the girl down on the futon and moved away so Kagome could look more closely. She had a nasty bump on the head, probably from the fall, but was otherwise unharmed.

Kagome looked up at the worried Yahiko and sighed. "She'll be alright Yahiko, just come into the next room will you?"

Yahiko looked ready to argue, but complied. Kagome shook her head in disgust as she followed him out. _Males! They come dragging in half dead and laugh about it as if it's nothing and then fall apart the second the women they care about gets a scratch._ Kagome smiled. She had to admit; it was still a rather endearing quality in the gender.

Kagome closed the door and pulled Yahiko away. The boy looked absolutely miserable. "Well, tell me what happened."

Yahiko couldn't bring his gaze up from the floor while he spoke. "It's all my fault. She's so shy, I should have never have done that to her."

"Did what Yahiko?" Kagome said sounding more concerned by the moment.

"I've been working for the past few weeks at a warehouse so I could save up enough money to buy Tsubame this." Yahiko said pulling a long slender case out of his pants. "It's a necklace I saw in the marketplace and I thought she would like it. It was very expensive. I had just bought it today and was going to give it to her for her birthday." Yahiko said miserably.

"What's this got to do with her fainting?" Kagome asked perplexed.

"Well, I was waiting for Tsubame to get off work so I could walk her home so I had it out looking at it. She came walking up on me and I didn't realize it. I stuffed it back in my pocket as fast as I could, but I think I might have yelled at her." Yahiko looked heartbroken. "She passed out after that."

Kagome shook her head for a moment and tried to suppress her smile. Young love could be so cute sometimes. "OK, well she's going to be alright. You wait outside and I'll bring her out to you."

Kagome left Yahiko and went get her herb pouches. She'd concocted her own special brand of smelling salts some time ago and they seemed to be just what the doctor ordered.

Kagome got her pouch and went back in to sit next to Tsubame. She pulled out some of the odiferous herbs and waved them under the girl's nose until she started to stir.

Tsubame opened her eyes and looked around the room. She didn't know where she was for a moment before she felt a reassuring hand touch her shoulder. "Take it easy child. You had a bit of a scare apparently."

The memories came flooding back to her as she lay there for a moment. _Yahiko!_ Tsubame started blushing furiously. She hadn't been able to look at Yahiko the same way since she and Tae had discussed IT.

"Where's Yahiko, and who are you?" Tsubame asked in her sweet, innocent, please-don't-kill-me voice. The young girl wasn't much older than she was.

"My name is Kagome, and this is my home. Yahiko brought you here after you fainted. He's waiting outside. He's feeling awfully embarrassed and guilty for the whole incident. I hope you won't be too angry with him." Kagome said smiling down at her.

Tsubame laid her head back and tried to clear the cobwebs. She remembered looking over his shoulder. Tae had told her that young men sometimes touched themselves there when they were thinking about the girls they liked, one of the many topics that she'd been informed of when Tae had told her about IT. Tsubame had never even imagined that of Yahiko though.

"I could never be angry with Yahiko." Tsubame said sighing. "I was just a little surprised is all."

"I take it you saw what he was hiding then." Kagome said seriously.

Tsubame looked up shocked. "He told you about it?"

Kagome smiled and nodded. "Yes, he told me the whole story. Like I said he feels pretty guilty for the whole affair. Really you should feel flattered."

Tsubame looked at the older girl completely stupefied. "Flattered?"

"Yes. He showed it to me when he brought you here. Boys don't give something like that to just anybody you know." Kagome said happily.

Tsubame changed her mind about being able to be mad at Yahiko. He actually showed IT to this woman? Kagome was looking at her strangely, apparently the hurt registered on her face.

"What's wrong Tsubame? You do want it don't you?" Kagome asked.

Tsubame tried not to cry. "Yes, it's just that I didn't really get to be the first one to see it. He covered it up before I could see."

Kagome nodded knowingly. "That's alright dear. I'm sure you'll enjoy it when he gives it to you. It's beautiful and quite large, I'm sure any girl would be proud to have one like it."

Tsubame was still a little shaken, but her curiosity was slowly getting the better of her. "Was it really that long?" Tsubame asked shyly putting her hands to her cheeks and trying not to blush.

Kagome smiled. "I'm sure it'll make you proud. You're a lucky girl to have a young man able to give you something that nice."

Tsubame couldn't help but blush now. She tried to calm the butterflies in her stomach.

Kagome stood up and put her pouch away in a small cupboard nearby. "Here, I'll tell you what. Yahiko wanted to wait to give it to you, but how about I tell him to go ahead and give it to you now since you've already seen it."

Tsubame nearly fainted dead away again. "Now? Here?" She said unconsciously looking around the room.

"Yeah, might as well since the surprise is gone, you might as well start enjoying it now." Kagome said heading over to the door.

Tsubame tried to remain calm as she started to stammer. "But… I don't… How do you go about 'accepting' something like that?" Tsubame said desperately.

Kagome gave her a confused look and shook her head in exasperation. "Just smile and take it girl. Trust me, if you don't somebody else will."

Kagome left the room for a moment as Tsubame sat up into a kneeling position and folded her hands into her lap. She tried desperately to straighten her kimono as Kagome brought Yahiko back into the room. Tsubame looked up as Yahiko came over to her shyly.

"I'm sorry I yelled like that Tsubame." Yahiko said sadly.

"That's OK, Yahiko." Tsubame said as she tried to keep the tremble out of her voice. Tsubame closed her eyes and tried to keep her heart from racing, but then why was Kagome still in the room?

"I wanted to wait until your birthday, but since you already saw it I hope you won't mind me giving it to you now." Yahiko said as he went to pull something from his pants.

Tsubame closed her eyes and held out her hand as Yahiko placed something into it. She opened her eyes to look down at the black little case he had given her. Confused she opened it to see one of the biggest most beautiful necklaces she'd ever seen. Tsubame could hardly contain her relief as she grabbed Yahiko around the neck.

"Yahiko I'm so glad that this is what you were going to give me!" Tsubame cried in delight. She looked over to Kagome. The older girl's eyes were about the size of saucers and Tsubame thought she could hear an audible 'click' coming from the vicinity of her brain. She was suddenly blushing furiously herself.

"What do you mean? Of course this is what I was going to give you Tsubame. You do like it don't you?" Yahiko had a look of trepidation combined with blissful ignorance that almost broke her heart.

"I think what she means is that she saw this necklace in the marketplace and was dreaming of some dashing young samurai getting it for her Yahiko." Kagome supplied quickly. Tsubame just smiled at Yahiko as he tried desperately to puff himself up three times larger than he actually was.

"Thank you Kagome-sama!" Yahiko chimed in. "I don't know what I would have done without your help. If there's ever anything you need, just let me know."

Kagome smiled blandly until her eyes fell on the bucket and the dingy floors of the old temple. Suddenly her eyes narrowed and Yahiko began to look uncomfortable as her grin broadened. "Now that you mention it Yahiko there is something I need some help with. Could you please clean the floors of the temple for me? I invited Kaoru and Megumi over for tea later, and I need to get started making the snacks we'll be eating."

Yahiko squirmed, but Kagome had him dead to rights. A samurai never breaks his word, and if Yahiko fancied himself a samurai he'd never renege on an offer of help. The fact he was in front of Tsubame helped matters too. "I kind of meant that if you needed any help fighting some faceless demon swordsman I could come to your aid." Yahiko said miserably. He was in debt and he knew it. Kagome wasn't about to pass up free labor.

"No Yahiko, the floors will do nicely." Kagome said smiling. She almost felt guilty, but it would at the very least teach the boy not to mouth off and promise what he didn't want to deliver too quickly.

Yahiko finally grumbled but set to work scrubbing the temple floors. Kagome turned to the young girl and smiled. "Would you like to stay for tea Tsubame? Kaoru and Megumi will be here soon."

The sun had set by the time Kaoru arrived with this Megumi woman that Kagome had heard so much about. She was tall and older and had a very sophisticated look about her. Kaoru had mentioned she was a doctor, and Kagome had urged them to please not spread the secret of her powers around. Kaoru had insisted however that they could trust Megumi and that she was very suspicious about the wounds Sano had suffered.

Yahiko was hanging around the front of the temple when the two women arrived. Kagome could hear the argument already in full swing by the time she entered her sitting room with the tea and cake.

"I'm not going back to the dojo, ugly! I'm going to escort Tsubame home!" Yahiko was shouting at the kenjutsu instructor.

"I can't believe you're being this disrespectful to your sensei, Yahiko." Kaoru was shouting back.

Kagome decided to diffuse the situation. "Yahiko, Tsubame won't be ready to go until after tea so find something else to do while the ladies and I are talking. You skipped practice today did you not? Go practice in the yard."

"Yeah, three hundred swings right here!" Kaoru cried triumphantly.

Yahiko stalked off to go do his practice swings while Kagome and the other three young women settled down. Kagome looked over at Tsubame who was apparently enthralled by Yahiko doing his practice drills. At least that would keep her from having to include the girl too much in conversation.

"Thank you for having us over Ms. Kagome." Kaoru said happily.

"That's fine dear, I just wanted to have you over and to talk about how things are between you and Kenshin now. I've been a bit worried about my meddling from before and wanted to make sure everything was alright." Kagome said courteously.

Kaoru seemed to sadden somewhat. "Everything is back to normal, I'm afraid."

Megumi sat looking impassive. "I think you should drug him personally. Some men wouldn't know how to show affection if it were a body part and they were buck naked."

Kagome smirked. "Not really a good solution. It's a novelty every now and again but it's more enjoyable when the man is actually awake for it." Kagome said laughing slightly.

The raised eyebrow she got from Megumi reminded her that she was supposed to be a priestess, not some harlot from the red light district. Thankfully Tsubame showed no sign of hearing any of them.

"It's not like that." Kaoru said finally. "Kenshin acts as if nothing happened. I know he has to remember what he and I talked about. He hasn't said anything about it though."

"What talk was this?" Megumi asked seriously.

"It's a bit hard to explain, Ms. Megumi. Kagome helped me see a side of Kenshin I've never seen before. Two sides even." Kaoru said as she sipped her tea.

"Is this what you were going on about? I'm here because I want to know why Sanosuke is still alive. That wound was mortal, and no amount of convincing is going to make it otherwise." Megumi crossed her arms and looked at Kagome. "I'd like to know exactly what's going on."

Kagome sighed. There really was no help for it. The woman had seen too much, and she had no choice but to explain the whole affair to her like she had Kaoru and the others. With luck she'd think she was insane.

Megumi sat quietly and listened as Kagome told her about her past and the jewel. She explained about her abnormally long lifespan and the powers she was able to wield. All things considered Megumi took it quite well.

"That is the most ridiculous story I've ever heard! Did the rooster head put you up to this Kaoru? Where is he? When I get my hands on him, I'll teach him to set me up for a prank." Megumi said ready to rise and go beat sense into Sano until he was senseless.

"It's no prank Megumi. Sit Down." Kagome said tiredly.

"So you've been alive for nearly five hundred years?" Tsubame asked.

Kagome nearly jumped out of her skin when the girl spoke. She had intended to send the girl away before revealing her secrets like that, but the girl was as quiet as a mouse and was able to blend into the background so well as to be nearly unnoticeable.

Kagome nodded and turned back toward Megumi. "Maybe a demonstration is in order."

"What kind of demonstration?" Megumi asked with a mixture of trepidation and skepticism.

"This is a simple exercise that is the basis of learning to manipulate a sorceress' powers." Kagome said setting down her tea.

"I thought you were a priestess." Megumi said uneasily.

"I was, a long time ago. Then with me being married and all, 'sorceress' sounded like a better description. Now stop changing the subject." Kagome said leaning forward and touching Megumi's forehead.

What appeared above their small table was small, multicolored orb about the size of a softball. It swirled chaotically with a mixture of different colors, but was predominantly brown.

"What's that thing?" Megumi said drawing away. The orb began to change its color from brown to gray.

"It's what's commonly referred to as a 'thought bubble'. It's a teaching tool that I learned a few years back. It reflects your thoughts and emotions. Right now it is glowing gray, which indicates that you are uneasy or afraid. A few moments ago it was glowing brown, which generally indicates skepticism. Everything about the orb, from its size, color, and shape indicates something about the mental state of the person. By learning to control your mind you can manipulate the orb and learn to control your powers." Kagome said in her best professional tone.

The orb hovered in front of them and slowly changed to the same multicolor swirl pattern without any real color becoming dominant. Megumi stared at the thing and but finally shook her head. "I can't do anything with it."

"Like I said, it isn't easy to control the orb. For most people it simply serves as an indicator of what your experiencing at the time. You should be proud however; most people don't have an orb of that size. I've noticed that typically trained professionals have slightly larger mental orbs due to their training, and this is definitely not one to be ashamed of." Kagome said happily.

"Can we try?" Kaoru said looking at the strange orb.

"Certainly." Kagome said. This was relatively simple and unobtrusive magic. While being a little showy, it actually had little meaning to a mundane person than being a sort of cosmic mood ring.

Kaoru's orb was much smaller than Megumi's, a fact that both disappointed Kaoru and had Megumi beaming. However it was much less chaotic. There were fewer colors in her orb, most of them changing much more slowly than Megumi's.

"Does this mean I'm not as smart as Megumi?" Kaoru said sadly.

"It means Megumi is more educated than you are." Kagome corrected softly. "Besides Kaoru, while I'm not going to say 'size doesn't matter', I will say that it isn't everything. For instance notice how your colors change much more slowly, and are less turbulent than Megumi's? That indicates that your emotions run much deeper than hers do. It also indicates that your heart is more focused than hers."

This seemed to please Kaoru while drawing a grimace from Megumi. It wasn't really that such things were a big surprise to people. Sometimes, however, it was fun to hear someone else notice. Finally, Kagome turned to Tsubame. "Would you like to try?"

Tsubame didn't speak; she just quietly and meekly nodded her head. Kagome sighed. This girl was going to be sought after. Most men fell all over themselves for a woman who was so gentle… and meek.

Kagome touched Tsubame's forehead and nearly gasped at the result. The bubble that hovered in front of them was nearly the size of a volleyball. Its shape wobbled uncertainly sometimes elongating into an egg shape and seemed to have a life of its own as it expanded and contracted in different places. Like Kaoru's orb, the colors moved slowly. Parts of the orb were nearly all pink.

Apparently the significance of the orb wasn't entirely lost on the two other women. "What does it mean, Lady Kagome?" Kaoru asked awestruck.

"Potential. Raw… potential." Kagome said staring at the orb in front of her. "She has massive strength of mind and spirit, uncontrolled, but still present. She feels, and more importantly, loves deeply. I could teach this one…" Kagome said breathlessly. In four hundred years she'd never seen a child with this much potential. She didn't know if her own powers would be as impressive were it not for the jewel.

All the floating lights had apparently attracted some attention. Yahiko walked up to the table having finished his exercises. The three women looked up at him, but Kagome watched the orbs. Indifference and slight annoyance from Megumi for being interrupted, sisterly affection from Kaoru, but Tsubame's bubble blazed to life and was nearly entirely pink with small, random flashes of red. It also seemed to grow slightly and wobble even more.

"What are you guys doing? I'm done with my practice swings now." Yahiko said eyeing the orbs over the table.

Kagome looked up at Yahiko with distant eyes. She guessed that she must look like she was peering straight through his soul the way Yahiko suddenly seemed to be getting uncomfortable. "Yahiko, could you please bring us the tray of snacks I left in the kitchen?" Kagome said putting a restraining hand on Tsubame as she tried to jump up. "You stay here child."

Yahiko darted off for the kitchen, seemingly thankful to have everyone not staring at him. Kagome sat looking at the orbs that had returned to normal.

"Lady Kagome?" Megumi asked. "I believe you told us pink was the color of love, which we certainly weren't surprised to see, but what were the red flashes?"

Kagome and Megumi looked over to Tsubame, who promptly started to blush and hide her face. "Need you ask?" Kagome said dryly.

"I guess not." Megumi said with a smirk.

"She's a little young for such thoughts, don't you think?" Kaoru said parentally.

"I think I was about that age when I started looking at boys that way." Megumi said nostalgically.

The conversation stalled as Yahiko came walking back with the tray of rice balls and another visitor. Sano walked behind Yahiko mesmerized by the tray of goodies he was obviously preoccupied with. Kagome watched the orbs again; this was getting amusing. This time there was indifference from Tsubame, sisterly affection from Kaoru, but Megumi's orb began to pulsate and flash a deep red with streaks of pink.

"Hey, you guys aren't messing with all that magic stuff are you?" Sano said with a look of apprehension.

His apprehension was nearly nonexistent compared to Megumi's however, who seeing her orb, jumped up from the table. "No actually I was just getting ready to leave." She said in a rush. Kagome politely dispelled her sphere.

"Aw, why don't you and Sano stay?" Kaoru said with an almost fox-like glint in her eyes, bright amusement and mischief running through her orb.

"I would like some rice balls if you don't mind Kagome, but if the fox-lady's ready then I guess I'll walk you home." Sano said oblivious to the female fencing match being played between Kaoru and Megumi with their stares.

"Come on rooster head, I'll buy dinner." Megumi said, grabbing up Sano by the arm and taking off like the hounds of hell were after her. All Sano could do was get out a brief exclamation of surprise before he was whisked away. The two of them made the stairs in record time and nearly bowled Kenshin over as they quickly departed.

"I would have thought Megumi to be more of a woman of the world than to be embarrassed by having such a strong physical attraction to such a strong young man as Sanosuke." Kagome said faintly.

Kaoru turned back to her from watching the duo disappear out of sight and winked at Kagome. "I think it was the streaks of pink that scared her." Kaoru said sagely.

Kagome watched as Kenshin joined them looking back over his shoulder at the retreating pair with a look of faint confusion. "Did I miss something, Ms. Kaoru?" Kenshin said.

Kagome watched as Kaoru desperately tried to hide her orb. Plenty of pink, red and several other emotions were still visible though. The thing looked as if someone had dropped it in a blender and set it to puree. 'Big surprise.' Kagome thought to herself as she dismissed Kaoru's orb.

"We were just watching some of the pretty things Lady Kagome could make with her magic." Kaoru said dismissively.

"Oh." Kenshin said nearly oblivious to the almost frantic woman before him. "I was just coming to see if you were alright. Dinner is almost ready, that it is. You are welcome to join us for dinner Lady Kagome. Tsubame can come too, we have plenty."

"Especially with Sano going to eat with Megumi." Yahiko said dryly.

Kagome smiled at Yahiko and cleared away the tea. Yahiko watched as she carried everything off towards the kitchen. She left the rice balls promising to bring them to dinner. She then retired to her room to change.

The four of them stood around waiting for her to return when Tsubame gently tugged on Yahiko's sleeve. Yahiko turned around and softened his voice when talking to her as he always did. "Yeah Tsubame?"

"Yahiko who is that?" Tsubame asked with a faintly scared tone in her voice.

Yahiko looked to where she was pointing and noticed the young woman standing at the top of the stairs. Something about her made the hair on the back of Yahiko's head rise. Apparently she had been having a similar effect on Kenshin and Kaoru.

Kaoru stepped forward to meet the visitor. "I'm sorry, the temple is closed. You'll have to come back tomorrow." Kaoru stated politely.

The young woman looked up at Kaoru and sneered. "They didn't tell me you had reincarnated yourself, Kagome. Oh well, no matter."

Yahiko's eyes widened as he suddenly realized what was happening. He grabbed Tsubame and headed for cover as the woman threw her hands forward and shouted. "SOUL BLASTER!"

Yahiko looked back as the light struck Kenshin in the back. He had jumped for Kaoru just as he had jumped to save Tsubame. Both of them had been slower than the power this woman wielded, but Kenshin had at least been able to dive in front of Kaoru. Yahiko realized that if he and Tsubame had been the targets, there was no way he could have been fast enough.

Kenshin toppled into Kaoru and both of them landed in a heap together. Yahiko watched as the two of them rippled with the energy they had been hit with.

The young woman laughed as she stepped forward. "A pity you didn't recognize me Kagome. The demons that sent me thought it might take you a moment, which was all the time I needed to use my new spell."

"TSUBAKI!" Kagome screamed as she leapt from the temple. She hadn't had time to change, and energy billowed around her priestess garments as she charged the woman.

The woman leaped back and brought a similar dark nimbus around her. "I guess it wasn't you after all. It's strange how you've managed to last all these years without aging. Well, no matter. I wanted to see if my spells could penetrate your defenses at full potency, so now I guess I get to try."

Yahiko watched as the two women lashed at each other with their powers. Crackling lightning bolts arced between the two in a furious battle. Yahiko pulled Tsubame behind him and looked over to Kaoru and Kenshin. They were both still alive, but from the look of things they were unconscious. Yahiko turned back to the battle to see the young woman and Kagome reaching a fever pitch.

"IRON REAVER – SOUL STEALER!" Kagome cried racing towards her opponent with her hands out stretched like claws.

"SOUL BLASTER!" The young woman screamed as Kagome closed the distance. The energy blasted directly into Kagome, tearing at her protective barriers and sending energy flaring out of her back. Yahiko watched in horror as a small round gem popped from her back and rolled towards him.

As Kagome collapsed to the ground she looked back and saw Yahiko. "Yahiko! Get the Jewel!"

Yahiko left Tsubame behind the cover of the old well and charged towards the jewel as fast as his young legs would carry him. He grabbed it just as black lightning danced over the spot where he had been standing. He grabbed the jewel and rolled until he came to look up at the young woman above him.

"So this is the best protector you can recruit, Kagome? A pity child, you'll never know the joy of seeing tomorrow's sun." The woman sneered as she looked down at him.

Everything seemed to slow down and happen in slow motion. Kagome was leaping to her feet trying to collect her strength as the woman raised her hand above her head summoning the dark lightning that was going to take his life.

Suddenly Yahiko heard someone scream "NO!" as Tsubame jumped on top of him and buried her tear-streaked face into his shirt, offering herself up for him. She clasped his hands in hers and waited for the end.

Yahiko pulled her close and tried to roll over so that he could take the blast instead, but he was too slow. The energy arced at the two of them. Yahiko couldn't see the woman behind him, but the energy never struck him. He opened his eyes and looked up to see some sort of glowing pink aura had surrounded both himself and Tsubame. He sighed in relief. Kagome had saved them.

Yahiko watched as the woman looked down at the two of them. "How DARE you!" She screamed.

Suddenly she was jolted to the side as a reverse blade sword connected with her ribcage. Yahiko looked for his idol and mentor, the man whose craft he sought to emulate, and instead found… Kaoru!

Kaoru had a murderous look on her face as she practically growled at the woman. "That's my student witch!"

Yahiko was dumbfounded as he watched Kaoru leap for the woman. Normally this would have meant suicide, but Kaoru moved faster than he had ever seen her move before. She managed to dance aside as energy crackled toward her and began to rain blow after blow against her adversary's shield with Kenshin's sword. She was using her most advanced techniques, and a few Yahiko didn't even recognize as she pummeled at the woman.

Finally, it seemed as if Kaoru were going to batter her way through the shield when the woman jumped back. "This isn't over! I'll deal with you three later!"

With a flash she was gone. Kaoru was breathing hard and had a look on her face Yahiko had never seen before. Kagome was quickly hovering over Yahiko.

"Yahiko! Do you have the jewel?" She said desperately.

"Yahiko pulled his hands from Tsubame's grip and held up the jewel. Yes, I managed to get it. Thank you for putting up this shield over us. We'd be dead without it." Yahiko said looking at the pink nimbus that still hovered over them.

"It wasn't me, Yahiko." Kagome said sadly. "Tsubame, clear your mind and the shield will go away."

Yahiko looked down stunned at Tsubame still half underneath him. She looked up timidly and closed her eyes. The shield over them wavered and finally glowed bright red a moment before it disappeared. "I don't understand Lady Kagome. You mean _Tsubame _saved us?"

Kagome still looked ready to cry. "Yes, Yahiko, it appears the jewel has chosen my successor."

Kaoru was standing over them looking on as if nothing were wrong in the world. Finally Kenshin seemed to come around and suddenly jumped up to come check on them. As he got close Kaoru noticed him and then deftly sheathed his sword. "Here's your sword Kenshin." She said offering him the blade like a fellow samurai. "I'm sorry I didn't ask, but I didn't have time."

Yahiko watched as Kenshin reached out with trembling hands to take the sword, but stopped midway. Yahiko couldn't believe what he was seeing. Kenshin's hands were trembling?

"Maybe you should keep it for now Ms. Kaoru." Kenshin said apologetically. "I'm still a bit shaken from what just happened."

Kenshin looked at Kaoru and Kaoru looked at Kenshin. Realization and horror seemed to be creeping across their faces simultaneously. "Oh, Kami." They said in unison.

"Our souls are WHAT?" Kaoru asked incredulously as Kagome finished her examination. The two orbs that hovered in front of her and Kenshin disappeared, and Kagome shook her head in disbelief.

"I never would have believed it if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes. Part of Kenshin's soul got blasted out of his body and entered yours. If it hadn't been for Kenshin's… peculiar, nature then the blast would have probably killed him. The spell Tsubaki used was designed to dislodge someone's soul, or at least anything bonded to their soul, like the jewel. When Tsubaki tried to blast you thinking that you were me, she must have dislodged Kenshin's warrior spirit and it got transferred to you. You're in possession of his talent and ability." Kagome said quietly.

"Does that mean that Kaoru will become the Battousi?" Kenshin said worriedly.

"Not necessarily, it just means that your power and as a result the part of you that controls your actions by instinct and emotion are now housed within her. Under such a state she will be prone to reacting even more emotionally. This may also mean she will be prone to reacting more violently." Kagome said unsure of how to handle the situation. This was her fault. These people had been trying to help her and now they were caught up in her fight.

"Great, we're doomed." Yahiko said bluntly. "Kaoru's already emotional AND violent."

The movement was so swift that none of them could have moved to stop her if they had tried. Within a heartbeat, Kenshin's sword was buried next to Yahiko's head in the wall. Yahiko looked ready to faint as he took a rather close look at Kenshin's blade.

The chill in Kaoru's voice seemed to make the room grow colder. She wasn't even looking in Yahiko's direction and when she did look at him Kagome guessed that Yahiko was probably wishing that she wasn't. "Yahiko, I've tried for some time to beat some manners into you and to turn you into something less than a loud mouthed kid who didn't deserve the lessons I taught and into a man who held people in respect which is the way of our sword style. You have rejected what I've taught you at every turn and only been receptive to that which you thought would make you stronger and more powerful. Someday, I hope you realize that true strength comes from the heart, not from the sword arm. In the meantime, all you have done is sneer at my efforts and ridicule the hand that has sheltered you, fed you, and loved you like a younger brother. I would have hoped that the son of a samurai would be more grateful."

Kaoru's words seemed to slice rather than sink into Yahiko as she continued. "Despite all of this I have continued to teach you. While yes, at times my anger at you became too much and I disciplined you, have you ever known me to hurt you seriously? Has my discipline ever been too much to bear?"

"I just don't want to be thought of as little or weak." Yahiko said defensively. He looked as if he were ready to cry, though from fear or guilt Kagome couldn't tell.

Kagome nearly jumped as Kaoru pulled Yahiko into her lap and hugged him close. "You are little still, but you won't be for much longer. You are MY little one. Soon you will be grown and you'll go on to be strong. I am sure of this. Just let me enjoy what time I have to think of you as my student and as a little brother."

Then as quickly as she had pulled him close she pulled away and brought him up to stand with her. "Now go take Tsubame home. It's getting late and I don't want her around here if Tsubaki returns."

"That may not be the best of ideas Kaoru." Kagome said seriously. "Tsubaki saw what Tsubame did. She will know the girls potential and her link to the jewel. Besides myself, she probably knows more about how to use the jewel than anyone else."

"What do you propose we do then?" Kaoru said looking at the young girl.

"I think I can prepare a ritual to put you and Kenshin back the way you were. The only problem is that it will require some special herbs I don't have with me. I could go get them, but they are on the continent and I need to stay here in Japan and find out who Tsubaki is working for. I also need to protect Tsubame from Tsubaki. Tsubaki will try to kill her if she gets the chance. She knows that the jewel will not respond to her as long as Tsubame and I are alive." Kagome said desperately.

Kaoru had apparently reached a decision. "Very well, you stay here and watch Yahiko and Tsubame. I'll take Kenshin and Sanosuke with me and I'll go to the mainland to see if I can find this herb you need. Tsubaki probably won't bother us since she seems more concerned with you and Tsubame. I'll bring her head back to you if she does."

Kagome almost wanted to chuckle at the thought, but realized Kaoru was probably being serious. She didn't really want to test her hypothesis either. "Then it's settled."

Kaoru turned to Kenshin. "You stay here and get some rest. It's your soul that got blasted after all. Get some sleep, and I'll be back with Sanosuke. We'll set out first thing in the morning. We'll see if we can't get some sort of passage across to the mainland."

Kagome pulled a small pouch from her belt. It was her fault they had to go on this mission after all. "Here, take this money. You should be able to pay most of your way with this."

Kaoru nodded and accepted the purse without comment. She then went to pull Kenshin's sword out of he wall and leave. Before leaving though she took the sword and propped it in a corner. "This might draw too much notice."

Kagome turned to Kenshin after she had left. She was surprised the man was still alive after having part of his soul ripped out. "Kenshin, I need to see your dreams tonight."

Kenshin nodded obediently. Kagome sat back to think about the situation she had found herself in while Kenshin busied himself around the dojo packing the things that they would need for their journey. Tsubame was looking at her expectantly, and it was getting late. "You and I are going to stay here tonight child. Will anyone worry if you do not return?"

"Only Ms. Tae." Tsubame said meekly. "Will she be in any danger?"

"Only if you go back tonight. Tsubaki had no idea about you before tonight, because I know I sure didn't either. We'll send word to her that you're staying here tonight with Ms. Kaoru."

Tsubame nodded obediently. "Lady Kagome?"

"Yes, child."

"What did you mean when you said that the jewel had chosen your successor?" Tsubame asked seriously.

"It means that the jewel has bonded to your soul just as it has or rather did to mine. Fortunately, I think my powers are still at full strength. However it may be that I will now begin to age and my powers diminish since you have been selected as its guardian." Kagome said sadly. She had always dreamed of one day finding someone to take over the charge, but not like this. This little girl was going to stay a little girl for a very long time, while Yahiko aged and became a man. She would have to watch the one she loved die just as Kagome had done, three times now.

"Does that mean I can't work at the Akabeko anymore? Does this mean I can't go home?" Tsubame said as she began to cry. Yahiko moved over to comfort her and she cried onto his shoulder.

"It will be alright, Tsubame." Kagome said trying to reassure the girl. "You'll still be able to go back there, you just won't be able to stay and work there. I'm sure Ms. Tae will be very proud of you. You'll be a priestess and it will be a good profession for you. You'll have to stay with me at the temple too, at least for a while. It will be dangerous for you until you learn to control your powers."

"Don't worry Tsubame, I'll be with you." Yahiko whispered softly to her. "It sounded like Kaoru wanted me to stay with you as well." He said looking up to Kagome.

Kagome nodded. "Try to get some sleep Yahiko. Tsubame can stay in the spare room with me tonight."

Yahiko nodded and led Tsubame to the spare room before turning in for the night. It left Kagome time to be alone with her thoughts before Kenshin went to bed. She felt sorry for the hardships that Tsubame would soon have to face, but there was little she could do.

Kagome's mind drifted back to her own problems. Someone would have to be fairly familiar with her past to know enough to enlist Tsubaki. They would have to have found her reincarnation and completed a reawakening ceremony. Tsubaki was the only enemy she had they could have done this with too. Demons didn't reincarnate, only humans. She was also fairly certain that Tsubaki could have never come up with a technique that powerful on her own. She already had an idea on how to block it, but Tsubaki lacked the power or training to accomplish it alone.

This left Kagome puzzled. She had outlived nearly all her old enemies from the past, and the ones that were still alive were pretty much retired. She was also fairly certain that no one from the current era could possibly have known enough about her to have known about Tsubaki, much less reawaken her. Kagome puzzled this for a while and before she realized it, she was asleep.

Kagome squeezed the water out of the cloth and tried to make her patient comfortable. She had the equivalent of a doctor's training and could heal things that most physicians of this time period thought were incurable, except this. Her patient groaned and rolled his head in her direction.

"I'm not going to make it out of this alive, am I?" He said between the pains that wracked his body.

"Lay still and try not to move, you'll only make it worse." Kagome said as she replaced the damp cloth on his forehead.

"You never could hide anything from me Kagome. I guess there are some things that even the Tensaiga can't cure." He said coughing.

Kagome put a soft hand on his cheek until he closed his eyes. She then moved over to the door to look out into the cold night of winter. It was nearly midnight, and he had pneumonia. The Bakumatsu was nearly over, that at least was good news, but it would be a hollow victory if she lost him.

Instead of growing old together, he had grown old and she had remained the same age. At first, they had traveled together as spouses, then as the years had passed they slowly started posing as father and daughter, and finally as grandfather and granddaughter. Now he lay dying, as she stayed the same age.

She had known this day would come but the circumstances were the worst she could have imagined. They had been delivering some medicines she had prepared to some friends when the soldiers ambushed them. He had fought bravely, but his age had finally caught up with him. She was standing out of the way when she saw one of the men was carrying a musket. He had fired at her. The bullet had been meant for her, but he had gotten in the way of it.

It should have killed him. She remembered him falling into her arms after he turned and rent the soldier in half with his claws. She had healed his gunshot wound, but the pneumonia had set in. Now they were here in this abandoned cabin and he was dying.

His gentle cough pulled her out of her sorrow long enough to move back to his side. It suddenly occurred to Kagome that something was very wrong. He wasn't old he was young again. He was also staring up at her. "The cat got your tongue, love?"

Kagome scrambled back from him as her eyes opened wide. "Shippou, what is this? You're dead."

"Right as usual my love, but this time only half right." Shippou said sitting up and throwing off the blanket. "You seem to dream of this place a lot."

"I try not to dream." Kagome said stunned. "It takes me back and I remember."

"I know." Shippou continued as he came over and hugged her close. "Whenever you DO dream though, you dream of this place. I must say that Kouga and Inuyasha have been quite jealous. You didn't dream about their deaths nearly as often."

"How can this be Shippou? You died ten years ago?" Kagome was valiantly trying to figure out what was going on. She could actually sense Shippou and know that his spirit was there with her in her dreams.

"Yes, love, but my spirit lives on in you. It was what allowed my consciousness to rejoin you here in your dreams." Shippou said gently holding Kagome close.

"You mean that I could have been with you in my dreams all this time? Why didn't you reveal yourself?" Kagome said with tears in her eyes.

"No, love. I didn't learn how until I reached the other side. Kouga and Inuyasha can't come because your soul was different from theirs. Since you both raised and loved me, my soul was more similar to your own. I was able to trace my way back to you while they couldn't. I've been waiting and watching for a long time for you to come here so I could speak to you. Every time I notice your presence, you awaken." Shippou said to her.

"I never want to wake up then. Let Tsubaki have the jewel and kill me in my sleep so I can be with you forever." Kagome said nuzzling into the chest of her beloved fox.

"No, love. You still have things to do. You've waited long I know, but your time isn't now. This girl you've found must bear the burden, and you must train her. This new menace though is a mystery to me as well, you might want to summon Lord Ginta during the next full moon and see what he has to say about it, but there's something else I wanted to tell you." Shippou said seriously.

"What is that my love?" Kagome said feeling the warmth of his chest under her hands again.

"You must get on with your life. You made me a promise and I don't want you to be alone." Shippou said seriously.

"I'm not alone Shippou. I have friends again and a new apprentice. That will do until we meet again." Kagome said desperately.

"No Kagome you have an entire life ahead of you. Fortunately, this time it's only one. Kouga, Inuyasha, and I want you to love again. We want to know that you are happy and cared for." Shippou pulled her close as he spoke. "We'll be waiting for you on the other side, and we'll welcome you when you come to us along with whoever it is you find. Sango and Miroku should be here by that time as well. They've been reborn again, but they should be dead by the time you make it to us. We'll all be together again."

"I'm not sure I can love like that again." Kagome said as she clasped Shippou's hand in her own. "You were kind of a tough act to follow."

"Thanks for noticing." Shippou said grinning. "Each time you feel love though it's different. You taught me that. Your love for Inuyasha was different than what you felt for Kouga or even me, but you loved us all. Please love, don't waste what time you have left by being lonely."

Kagome nodded. "Will I see you in my dreams?"

"No, love. It takes a lot of energy to come be here like this. I can't do it for much longer. It will be better for you if you find someone else to share your dreams with for now. I also won't have you coming back here either. There's nothing for you here." Shippou said as he held her tight.

Kagome listened to his breathing until she heard someone walking up to them. She heard Kaoru's voice, and when she looked Shippou was gone. Finally she felt herself shaken, and opened her eyes to see Kaoru looking down at her.

"Are you alright Lady Kagome?" Kaoru said with some concern. "You fell asleep."

"I'm fine Kaoru." Kagome said sitting up and stretching. "Did you find Sano?"

"Yes, he's sleeping in my room tonight." Kaoru said with a grin on her face.

"Where are you sleeping then?" Kagome asked confused.

Kaoru just smiled and turned to head to the back of the house. "I'm sleeping with Kenshin tonight. He needs my 'protection'."

Kagome's eyes widened and she jumped up to confront Kaoru. "Kaoru, you know you're not yourself right now right? If you rush this part of the relationship, you might end up getting you and Kenshin hurt."

Kaoru smiled for a moment before patting Kagome on the shoulder. "Don't worry Kagome, I'm not going to bed him… yet. Kenshin's fierce half doesn't find his meek half very attractive. I'm just going to make sure that Kenshin knows precisely what I want from him once he gets his soul back."

"Are you sure that's wise?" Kagome asked.

"Don't know, but right now his spirit is making me a little headstrong. I've never had the courage to tell Kenshin how I feel, but now I think this trip will serve to draw us together whether he wants to or not." Kaoru said with an even more menacing grin.

Kagome shook her head finally in exasperation. "Happy hunting then. Oh, and one other thing. I need to get into Kenshin's dreams tonight so I can see the extent of the damage. Please wait until tomorrow before you wake him for any discussions. And if you do decide that you want him tonight, remember you won't be alone."

Kaoru nodded and went into Kenshin's room. Kagome heard as few words exchanged and things got quiet. She waited a few minutes and then went to join Tsubame in the spare room.

Kagome slipped into her futon without waking Tsubame and began to concentrate. She would sleep tonight after she had checked on Shinta.

Kagome found Shinta dancing around the dream dojo. "He's gone. He's gone! He's finally gone!" Shinta cried exultantly.

"Only for a little while Shinta." Kagome said looking down at the happy boy.

"Why not forever?" Shinta asked plaintively.

"He's currently inside Kaoru." Kagome reminded him. "He needs to be back here. You don't want Kaoru to change like that do you?"

Shinta immediately looked like the guilty kid with his hand caught in the cookie jar. "No, I guess not."

"Good. Then I expect you to behave and do what Kaoru tells you and no running off from her now that you're free of Kenshin. Maybe when Kenshin gets back from being with Kaoru he'll be more tolerable for you." Kagome said softly.

"Do you think so?" Shinta asked.

"Of course. He's always wanted to be with Kaoru and now there's no getting any closer. I'm sure the lessons he learns there will make him more inclined to cooperate with you from now on." Kagome said with a smile. "In the meantime however it's bedtime young man."

"Aw, do I have to?" Shinta asked as she bundled him off to bed.


	4. Soujiro

**A/N:** I do not own Inuyasha OR Rurouni Kenshin. I do however own a big DVD collection of each and horrendous amounts of merchandise, so please don't sue I'm a loyal customer.

**Chapter 4. Soujiro**

The young man stepped out into the street from the alley and looked both ways before crossing the street. He'd been here before but this was the first time he was on a peaceful mission. That probably wouldn't matter to the likes of Saitoh, so he tried to keep a low profile as he moved through the crowds toward the Kamiya Dojo. He needed answers. He needed direction. He needed a purpose.

Soujiro no Tenken was confused.

He had set out to find his answers as Shishio and Himura had, by wandering. It didn't take him long to realize that wandering was probably the most inefficient method of soul searching available. You had so much else on your mind, like your next meal, how cold it was getting, rain, and such like that you very seldom got to ponder the deeper meaning of things.

This had occurred to Soujiro early on so he had approached someone who had found his peace by instead becoming a hermit. Master Hiko had been a little less than thrilled to see him, at least initially. He'd treated the man's wounds as best he could and hidden his sword until he got better, and in the end he finally got Hiko to agree not to kill him. However Hiko only told him what he already knew, that wandering was quite possibly the stupidest thing a man could do to search for inner truth as all it really entailed was running from one's own inner demons.

While that had seemed like a pretty good idea at the time, Hiko had suggested his current course of action instead. Seek out Himura and ask him why he stopped wandering. Hiko had told him that if he could find out how Himura had faced his own past, he might be able to face his own as well and find the truth he was looking for. Soujiro had been quite grateful, the lesson had only cost him three jugs of sake he had used to get Hiko drunk enough to spill it. Since Soujiro had stolen his sword, he surmised that Hiko was going to be in a pretty bad mood until he made enough pottery to buy another one.

Soujiro knocked on the gate of the dojo and waited for someone to answer. When nobody came to the gate he hopped over the wall to take a look inside. The house looked as if it had been closed up for some reason. From the state of things they hadn't expected to come back for some time.

A noise drew his attention back to the gate and Soujiro barely had time to conceal himself before he saw a young man come barreling through the gate. He ran straight into the main hall of the dojo and emerged a few moments later carrying two shinai. He carefully closed everything up and then bolted back through the gate. Not having much else to go on to find Himura, Soujiro followed at a distance. The young boy ran down the street and up the stairs to a temple.

Soujiro tried to blend into the trees as he watched the boy go racing up to a young woman who was sitting at tea with a young girl a little younger than the boy. Soujiro jumped behind a tree, as she seemed to look up in his direction.

"Here you go Kagome! Can you start teaching me now?" Yahiko said excitedly.

"I didn't mean get ME a shinai Yahiko, I only told you to get yours. What I'm going to teach you will only require one. Go get me the bow and arrow out of the store room." Kagome said to the prancing kid.

This 'Yahiko' ran off into the temple as the young woman who was apparently 'Kagome' turned to the little girl. "Alright Tsubame, time for you to show me what you've learned. Close your eyes and focus your mind. You still can't do this automatically, but you should be able to use the power over a short distance."

Soujiro pulled back behind the tree and wondered where Mr. Himura might be. He was startled to hear a yelp escape from the young girl, 'Tsubame'.

"Ms. Kagome there's someone behind that tree!" Tsubame cried. Soujiro looked down to see if any of his clothing was sticking out. He tried to think how the girl would have known he was there, when he heard the young woman again.

"Yes, I know. He's been there since Yahiko got back. I can only assume he followed him from the dojo, and if he knows what's good for him he'll be coming out where we can see him." Kagome said seriously.

Soujiro wasn't stupid. He knew when he'd been caught. It didn't happen very often, but it was pretty recognizable when it did. He stepped out from behind the tree and approached the cute young woman.

"I apologize for spying miss." Soujiro said painting on his best smile. "I'm looking for someone and I was hoping that you might know where he is."

"That depends I guess. Just exactly who are you looking for?" Kagome said looking him up and down.

"I'm looking for Kenshin Himura. I followed that young boy, Yahiko here from the dojo where he normally stays." Soujiro continued.

By this point, the young man in question had returned with the bow and arrows. He gave them to the young woman, and turned to look at their new visitor. "Who's this guy Lady Kagome?"

Soujiro smiled and crossed his fingers hoping that honesty would work out better in the long run. "My name is Soujiro. Seta Soujiro."

Soujiro could tell from their blank expressions that neither the young woman nor the girl had heard of him, but the young man leaped in front of them both with his shinai drawn. "Stand back Lady Kagome! This guys one of the Juppon Gatana!"

Soujiro bowed to the boy. "Former member actually. There isn't a Juppon Gatana left. You must be the boy I heard about that managed to defeat one of our number. It is a pleasure to finally get to meet you."

The young woman was looking at him blankly. "Yahiko do you mean this man is your enemy?"

"Yeah, he and Kenshin fought in Kyoto a few months ago. He was part of a conspiracy to overthrow the government." Yahiko said seriously.

"My word, what you children get yourselves mixed up in." Kagome said in exasperation. "Well, he isn't likely to start something here in the temple Yahiko so put your shinai down."

"Thank you miss, I'm simply looking for Mr. Himura. There are several questions I would like to ask him." Soujiro said politely.

"Well, I'm afraid you've just missed him. He left a few days ago for the mainland with his friends. I imagine if all is according to plan they are onboard ship right now." Kagome said to him.

Soujiro actually lost his smile. He'd have to wait for him somewhere, or else return later. "I'm sorry to have bothered you miss, I'll return sometime later then and speak with him then." Soujiro said as he turned to leave.

"Kagome! You aren't just going to let him leave are you?" Yahiko said incredulously.

"No, of course not Yahiko." Kagome said seriously. "If you're just looking for information, is it something that I can help you with?"

"That wasn't exactly what I had in mind." Yahiko said flatly.

Soujiro turned back to the young woman. "Not unless you can tell me why he stopped wandering." Soujiro said seriously.

"Stopped wandering?" Kagome said to herself. "Why on earth would you want to know that?"

"I spoke with Kenshin's master, Hiko. He told me that wandering around trying to find the answers to the questions I have was a bad idea. He told me the best thing to do would be to find Kenshin and ask him why he _stopped_ wandering. If I can learn that then I might be able to come to terms with my… issues." Soujiro said sadly.

"Well, I would have to agree with this 'Hiko' then." Kagome said looking over Soujiro again. "How old are you, anyway? You don't look old enough to shave, much less have accumulated such emotional hurt that you would find it necessary to seek your answers through wandering."

"I'm…" Soujiro had to think about this one. "I guess I'm already eighteen."

"_Already_ eighteen, huh?" Kagome said with amusement. "Very well, then you may wait here for him if you like. I've plenty of room in the temple, and you can do chores around here to earn your keep until he returns."

Yahiko was practically beside himself. "Kagome, weren't you listening? This guy is an e-n-e-m-y!"

"And the first lesson you should remember Yahiko is to keep your friends close, but your enemies closer." Kagome said with annoyance. "Besides, he's polite which is more than I can say for most of my enemies that I've had to face before. Please, Soujiro sit here. I was just about to train Yahiko."

Soujiro dumbly did as he was told and took the young woman's place at the table while she got up and took the bow and arrows form Yahiko. "Now Yahiko go over and stand next to that wall over there."

Yahiko never took his eyes off of Soujiro as he did as he was told. Soujiro looked across the table at the little girl who looked ready to faint any moment. He then watched Kagome take her place at the opposite end of the temple grounds from Yahiko. Yahiko finally stopped looking at Soujiro when he noticed Kagome aiming the bow at him.

"WHOA! Kagome what are you doing?" Yahiko said looking more than a little distressed.

"I'm going to teach you how to parry arrows. Now concentrate and don't worry. More importantly, DON'T MOVE. I'm an expert marksman with a bow, so as long as you don't do anything stupid, I won't hit you. I'm going to start by shooting at the wall behind you just to the left of your right ear. I want you to try to swing and hit the arrow before it hits the wall. Then as you gain skill, we will begin to move the arrow closer and closer to your heart. Once you've mastered the technique you'll be able to defend yourself against distance weapons." Kagome said drawing careful aim at Yahiko.

Soujiro had never bothered to learn such techniques himself as his speed could easily close the distance with anyone armed with a bow, and if all else failed he could always outrun the arrow.

Soujiro watched as Kagome fired a few arrows at Yahiko. After about ten tries he stopped flinching as he realized that Kagome wasn't going to hit him. After about an hour and several trips to return her arrows to her, he still hadn't managed to hit one.

"That's all for now, Yahiko. We'll try again tomorrow." Kagome said sadly.

Soujiro watched the woman in the red hakama while she practiced with the boy. He noticed the girl was wearing similar clothing. He finally realized they were probably the priestesses in charge of the temple.

"An impressive display of marksmanship Lady Kagome." Soujiro complimented.

"I've had some time to practice." Kagome said evasively. "Tsubame, please clear away the table. I'll be in to help with the evening meal in just a moment."

The young girl and boy gathered up their things and went towards the back portion of the temple. Soujiro remained seated as Kagome sat down across from him at the small table.

She sipped her tea in silence, and laid her bow across her lap with the arrows within easy reach. She apparently didn't trust Soujiro, not that Soujiro could have blamed her. Soujiro had never really been worth trusting to anyone except Master Shishio.

Soujiro sighed and started to pick up the tea to offer her some more to drink when he felt the presence. He paused for just the briefest moment before he poured her more tea.

"Please excuse me Lady Kagome." Soujiro said standing up. He walked out into the yard of the temple and looked around. There was a presence moving amongst the trees, but try as he might he couldn't see anyone.

Soujiro looked back to notice that Kagome had not risen and was still sipping at her tea. She hadn't put down the bow either. Soujiro turned back and pulled his sword from where he kept it hidden in his pack. He put it in his belt and slowly pulled it from the sheath.

The attack came more quickly than Soujiro expected. It was fast and lethal. There were three of them, ninja from their appearance. They leaped into the yard and dashed toward Soujiro with startling speed.

Soujiro's blade whipped free of the scabbard as he met their charge. He sliced twice at the two to either side of him before bringing his sword to bear on the third. He barely managed to bring up his blade in time as his opponent drew his own weapon and slashed for Soujiro's throat.

Soujiro fought back and forth with his enemy until he realized that the other two were getting back up. Soujiro was so stunned he nearly missed the sword stroke meant for his heart. He was about to fall back when there was a sudden flash of lavender light around him and he was standing there facing only the one foe he had been fighting.

The air smelled heavily of charred remains as the two who had been about to attack Soujiro crumbled to dust with an eerie black mist rising from them. Soujiro fought with his foe for a few more moments as his mind tried to wrap itself around what was happening. _She shot them both, at the same time! She is an expert marksman, but where did that light come from and how were they getting back up?_

Soujiro finally drove his sword deeply into the chest of his attacker and twisted the blade for good measure. The man staggered back and hissed at Soujiro before coming forward again. _What the… !_

An arrow whizzed past Soujiro's ear and sunk into the things chest. Soujiro tried to shield his eyes from the flash of lavender light that enveloped his opponent, but he was still dazed for a few moments. When his vision cleared Kagome was standing before him with her bow and arrows. "I guess you are a master swordsman then." Kagome said smiling to him. "Those things aren't easy to fight and I've never seen anyone take on three before."

A scream drew their attention to the back of the temple. Soujiro ran alongside Kagome to the back of the temple to see another one of the ninjas leaping into the trees carrying Yahiko and Tsubame.

Kagome started to take of after them when Soujiro grabbed her arm. "What do you think you're doing?" Kagome hissed at him.

"I can catch him, but why can't I kill him." Soujiro interrupted.

Kagome looked at him startled and then back at the ninja. "You can't catch it, now let me go. It's a demon you fool." Kagome said snatching her arm away from the stunned Soujiro.

Kagome took off running after the demon. It was outdistancing her as she tried to get a good shot at it without hitting the children. Soujiro tapped his feet against the ground and prepared himself. He then took off after Kagome.

In a heartbeat he was behind Kagome sweeping her off her feet. Kagome's startled exclamation died on her lips, as she looked at Soujiro wide-eyed. "How are you doing this?"

"It's my special speed technique." Soujiro said concentrating on running after the two children and the ninja that was now starting to pick up speed as well. He had to hurry he looked like he was headed for the river.

Soujiro was shocked as Kagome managed to slip from his arms and straddle his back with lithe grace. He ran as hard as he could as he hooked his arms under her legs and she readied another arrow in her bow. The ninja had just reached the river, as Soujiro came barreling out of the trees at full speed.

Soujiro couldn't believe his eyes as the thing jumped. It leaped into the air and seemed to take flight as it sailed high into the air over the river. Soujiro skidded to a halt as Kagome's arrow loosed from the bow to strike the ninja in the back as it reached the center of the river.

Soujiro watched as the ninja exploded sending the boy and girl tumbling into the water below. Kagome was already screaming. "Yahiko, save Tsubame." Soujiro started to put Kagome down and jump in the river to save the girl, when he saw Yahiko making progress toward her splashing form. Somehow he managed to reach her and start pulling her toward the bank. As the two of them came to the bank they collapsed breathing for all they were worth. Soujiro had to admit; he was a bit winded himself.

"That does it Tsubame." Kagome said as she flopped to the ground next to her apprentice. "Next week we're starting your swimming lessons."

Kagome looked at the young man sitting at her table as she finished cooking supper. He didn't look like he was a threat, but looks could be deceiving. His speed was nothing short of amazing. There was simply no way he was completely human.

Apparently having helped save Tsubame had pretty much made all things forgiven in Yahiko's eyes as well. He and Soujiro sat at the table chatting about things like swords, techniques and mostly about Kenshin.

Kagome shook her head and put the food on the tray. Tsubame picked it up and the two of them joined the two young men at the table. Tsubame immediately started serving the food to her beloved Yahiko so Kagome gave a portion to Soujiro before setting about eating herself. She tried not to appear too overt as she studied the young man. He was handsome and lean, but he was still young. She had doubted Yahiko's story about him being a swordsman until the demons had shown up. He had sensed them before they had come into her range and had even managed to hold off three of them while she prepared her arrows to fire. Even one of those things usually ripped through even accomplished swordsmen without stopping.

The meal passed by in silence until Kagome finally started the conversation. "So tell me, Soujiro. What clan do you belong to?"

The reaction from Soujiro was somewhat puzzling. He had been smiling ever since he got here, but he was actually frowning sadly into his food now. "I don't have a clan. I'm an orphan."

Kagome's brow knit together as she looked up at the boy. He simply HAD to have demon blood in him. There was simply no other explanation for it. "You mean you're not part of the wolf clan?" Kagome said slowly.

"No miss." Soujiro said politely. "I'm just a wanderer, I've never heard of a wolf clan."

Kagome thought about this for a while. There were too many unexplained demons running around Tokyo these days, and now a swordsman with demon blood shows up on her doorstep that DOESN'T belong to one of the clans. Impossible.

"I must thank you for your hospitality, Lady Kagome, but I think it would be better if I left." Soujiro said starting to rise.

Kagome grabbed his hand and looked up at him. "I told you that you could wait for Kenshin here, why are you wanting to leave?"

"Those men were probably here looking for me. I've been on the run ever since I left Kyoto. There are several old enemies I have that would like nothing more than to get vengeance on me for some of the… things I used to do." Soujiro said sadly.

Kagome looked up at him. "What makes you think they were after you?"

"Who else could they have been after? That ninja was probably going to take Tsubame and Yahiko hostage. I never should have brought my troubles to your doorstep." Soujiro said trying to pull away.

"Sit down, Soujiro." Kagome commanded gently. Soujiro slowly sat down, and it took a moment for Kagome to realize she was still holding his hand. She finally released it and tried to conceal her blush.

"I'm fairly certain those things were after me, Soujiro, not you." Kagome said slowly.

"You mean you still think they were demons?" Soujiro said curiously. "They looked like ordinary ninjas to me."

"Yes, Soujiro. I was firing a magic arrow at them. Didn't that strike you as odd, the flashing lights and then them crumbling to dust. Especially when your sword had no effect on them." Kagome said looking at him for some sign of acknowledgement.

"Well, I've seen some pretty odd things in my life. Master Shishio used to incorporate fire and explosives into his sword style. I assumed you were using some sort of explosive arrow." Soujiro said uneasily. Kagome could tell that the boy was remembering the encounter and the lack of heat from the explosions were probably beginning to unsettle him.

"Trust me Soujiro, those things were here for me not you. Yes, they were demons, powerful ones. Some demons can take human form, while others take the form of animals. It merely depends on the type of demon. Your sword isn't going to be able to do much against the likes of them." Kagome said trying to explain. "I can protect you all as long as you stay here. Please just stay the night here with us and we can talk about it in the morning. I need to talk to someone about what has been going on."

Kagome thought for a moment that he would refuse, before he finally nodded. "Good. I'll show you to a room then."

Soujiro lay awake for a long time. He normally sat up when he slept, but he had been walking a lot that day and his back felt much happier lying flat. This entire demon business was a little much for him to handle. He didn't feel right leaving this young girl Kagome to try to protect those two kids by herself despite her assurances that she was up to the task.

Looking out the window of the room he had been given at the temple, he realized it was nearly midnight and the moon was full. He started to go back to sleep, but then he heard the soft brush of wood on wood that told him that someone had opened the front door of the temple.

Soujiro was up and dressed in a flash. Not only by merit of his speed, but because of his former occupation. One did not live long if you allowed yourself to be caught unprepared.

Soujiro stepped from the room and followed the sound of footsteps out into the courtyard. Once there he could make out the form of Kagome walking in the moonlight. She hadn't made any move to indicate that she had sensed him, which was unusual. He knew that with swordsmen they could miss someone's presence if they were distracted, he just hoped the same held true for her powers as well.

Soujiro followed Kagome until she stopped at the top of the stairs that led down to the bottom of the hill and the street below. She looked up at the moon high overhead and then she started to sing.

Soujiro listened as she held out two long penetrating notes. Her voice was beautiful, and it rang clearly to Soujiro's ears. It was melodic and sounded vaguely like a wolf baying at the full moon; that is if the wolf happened to a beautiful young woman with the voice of an angel. Where did THAT come from?

Kagome stood at the top of the stairs for a few minutes before Soujiro heard a lone wolf cry in the distance. As soon as she heard it Kagome nodded and turned back towards the temple. Soujiro zipped back in ahead of her quietly and got ready for bed and back into his futon in the blink of an eye.

He lay there until he heard her outside his door. He closed his eyes and pretended to be asleep as he heard the door open and her footsteps coming over to him. She knelt next to him and he was facing away from her until he felt her soft hand cup his cheek tenderly and turn his head back toward her. Soujiro looked up into her deep brown eyes as she bent down next to his ear.

"Sou-chan. Most swordsman come awake instantly when someone enters their room, no matter how deeply they sleep. I suspect you are no different." Kagome whispered into his ear. She then smiled and kissed his forehead before getting up and returning to the room she shared with Tsubame.

Soujiro grimaced in spite of himself. She was right, they normally do…

Kagome yawned briefly as she finished setting out tea after breakfast. Soujiro couldn't bring himself to look at her and she really didn't want to look at him too closely this morning. He was a gorgeous young man, of that there was little doubt, but she was too old to be acting like some giddy little schoolgirl kissing him like that last night. She'd act her age if most people weren't already dead by her age, demons included.

She had sent Yahiko down to the front step with a broom this morning to sweep the front step, and to come get her when company arrived. Yahiko didn't understand how she was supposed to be expecting company, but at this point the boy had stopped asking questions.

Soujiro squirmed around at the small table with her. Breakfast was over and she sat in silence waiting for her friend to arrive. Tsubame busied herself clearing away breakfast and preparing some food for snacks. Kagome blessed the day she managed to get an apprentice who had been a waitress in her former profession.

Yahiko appeared almost on cue at the top of the stairs. The only part Kagome could have wished for differently was the "HEY KAGOME-SAMA, THERE'S SOMEBODY HERE TO SEE YA!" that got bellowed over the sounds of the street below.

Soujiro looked askance at her, but she merely got up and headed for the stairs. She got to the top of them and looked at Yahiko. "You could have come over and said it politely you know." Kagome said wearily.

"I know." Yahiko said happily.

Kagome tried to remember to think of a fitting chore for the boy to do when she looked down at her visitor. "You? What are YOU doing here?" Kagome asked in shock.

The elderly woman walked up to the top of the stairs leaning heavily on the walking stick she carried, her eyes a complete milky white. She looked directly at Kagome and smiled. "Surprised to see me?"

Kagome couldn't help the smile spreading across her face. "Yes, a little, but you know your always welcome around me Shiori." Kagome said hugging her old friend. "Though, I sent for Lord Ginta last night."

"I know. I heard. You haven't been practicing these past few years." Shiori said sagely. "Ginta is actually the reason I'm here. I need to speak with him. When I heard your summons last night I thought it would be a good time to drop in for a visit."

"I'm glad you came. It's been too long." Kagome said happily. "I'll have Tsubame set another place for tea."

Kagome wrapped her arm around Shiori's and turned to Yahiko. "Please come GET me next time someone shows up."

"Oh, there's no need for that Kagome. I'll know when Ginta arrives." Shiori said smiling. Kagome nodded to Yahiko who promptly disappeared, probably to the kitchen to waylay Tsubame for another secret kiss.

"So who is this lovely young man you have with you?" Shiori said turning to Soujiro. "Let's have a look at you then."

To his credit Soujiro didn't move as Shiori placed her hands over his face. After a moment, Shiori blushed and put her hands down. "A fine handsome young lad this one is, Kagome. Don't let him stray too far."

Kagome and Shiori chuckled as she led her back to the table with the tea. Kagome nodded silently to Tsubame who started placing another setting for a fourth at the table.

Everyone sat when Shiori turned towards the stairs. She spoke for a moment, but no words came out of her mouth. She then turned back to Kagome. "We'll talk later, Ginta has arrived."

Soujiro looked at the old woman and then turned to the stairs as he felt the presence of the men climbing them. Two hairy burly men were carrying a bald elderly man on a sedan chair. After they reached the top of the stairs he barked a quick command and they set him down.

The two men crouched next to the chair as the old man hobbled over with his own walking stick. He stopped as the ladies and Soujiro rose to greet him. "Good morning sister, I hope you are well." He said warmly. "I got your summons last night."

Soujiro tried to contain his surprise as the four of them sat back down. There was NO way this man was Kagome's brother.

Kagome hugged the old man Ginta and she introduced the two of them to Soujiro. "Lady Shiori, Lord Ginta, may I present to you Seta Soujiro no Tenken. He's the reason I called the two of you here Lord Ginta."

"Oh? Seeing Shiori here I thought it must have had something to do with Uswe." Ginta said a bit confused.

"Actually, I am here because of him. I just heard Kagome's summons last night and decided to kill two birds with one stone. It isn't often I get to catch both of you together you know." Shiori said smiling.

"Wait a minute. You people know about Lord Uswe?" Soujiro said confused.

The three of them looked at him for a moment, before Ginta and Shiori looked at Kagome. "I assumed the boy was this new pupil I've heard so much about." Ginta said slowly.

"No he isn't. Tsubame is in the kitchen." Kagome said quietly still looking over at Soujiro.

Shiori smiled again. "No she isn't. Right now she's behind the temple kissing that chipper young boy you had sweeping the steps."

Kagome looked ready to call out when Shiori put a hand on her arm. "Leave them be, we'll get to know her later. So tell me boy, how is it you came to know Uswe?"

"He and I were comrades in arms." Soujiro said quietly. "I used to work for some very bad people."

Kagome was still staring at Soujiro as if she could see straight through his soul. Soujiro didn't like the way she was looking at him; it made him feel almost naked.

"What did you want to say about Uswe, Shiori?" Ginta was saying to the elderly woman.

"I simply wanted to express my gratitude to your clan for killing him. You did a great service to our clan when you eliminated him. He was becoming too much of a problem and we were about to have to take action. You saved us a great deal of trouble." The old woman was saying.

Soujiro swallowed hard. Uswe had been a madman, but he really didn't like the fact that these people were happy to see him dead. He had been his comrade in arms, and he didn't want to get off on the wrong foot with them.

"Think nothing of it Shiori. We actually didn't know he was part of your clan. It was pure coincidence that Saitoh killed him." Ginta was saying conversationally.

"You mean Saitoh is a member of your clan, and Uswe was a member of yours?" Soujiro said slowly. The two of them looked at him as if he'd lost his mind.

"Heaven's no child, but they are descended from our clans." Shiori was saying.

"Saitoh is my great, great… well let's just say he's my grandson." Ginta was saying proudly.

"I've met Saitoh, there's not much I'd list as 'great' about him." Kagome stated dryly as Ginta chuckled.

"Thankfully there IS no direct blood between me and Uswe." Shiori said with relief.

Soujiro's eyes were getting wider by the moment and he was finding it hard to maintain his smile by not letting his jaw drop open. "I don't mean to pry, but just how old ARE you?" He said to Ginta.

Ginta looked troubled and turned back to Kagome. "He really doesn't know ANYTHING about us?"

"No, he's one of the reasons I called you here. I need to know what clan he belongs to." Kagome said seriously as she sipped her tea.

Soujiro shook his head to tried to clear the cobwebs for a moment. "I'm sorry, is this about those demons things that attacked you earlier?"

"In a way." Kagome said uneasily. "Shiori and Ginta here are both demons themselves."

"Half-demon, thank you." Shiori said pertly.

"Nobody's perfect." Ginta chided.

"I called Ginta here because I need to know more about these demons that are roaming around Tokyo, and what clan you came from. I suspect it is from the wolf clan." Kagome said seriously.

"You mean you think I'M a demon?" Soujiro said incredulously.

"No lad, only an eighth I think; possibly a quarter." Ginta said sniffing in his direction. "And he definitely isn't one of the wolf clan, at least not any wolf clan I've ever met. What makes you think he's one of us?"

"His speed." Kagome said flatly. "I haven't seen anyone move that fast since Kouga, and HE was using jewel shards. Can you tell what clan he comes from?"

Ginta sniffed in his direction again. "Not enough for me to recognize I'm afraid. I don't recognize the name Seta either. Tell me boy, who was your mother."

Soujiro looked down and didn't speak for a moment. "She was a prostitute. My father was a rice merchant. She left me with him. I never knew her."

Soujiro looked down at the comforting hand Kagome placed on his arm. "I'm sorry Soujiro, I didn't know."

Soujiro looked up at her. "There's no way I can be part demon."

Kagome smiled sadly at him. "Yes, there is. Have you ever met anyone who could master your style of fighting, or your special speed techniques?"

"Master Shishio says it was because my leg muscles were strong from all the work I had to do as a child." Soujiro said desperately.

Kagome looked even more hurt. "I'm sorry Soujiro, but no. Normal humans can't move that fast no matter how much they train. We'll talk about it some more later, when you're ready."

"How is it you seem to know so much about these things and about me even though I never met you people before, and I only met you yesterday Lady Kagome. Why did Lord Ginta call you sister? I just really want to know what's going on." Soujiro said desperately.

"I guess it won't hurt to fill the boy in a little." Ginta said sighing. "I am Lord Ginta, boy. Don't bother asking my family name because I change it regularly. I am Lord of the Wolf Clan. We are all wolf demons, some westerners call us werewolves, but they haven't got a clue about what we're really like. All my power is based around the essence of the wolf. I've been Lord of the Wolf Clan for nearly three hundred years now. I call Kagome 'sister' because she was the wife of my clan's leader Lord Kouga. When he died she passed the mantle on to me and I have ruled ever since. I can smell the blood in your veins and I can tell you aren't one of my clan. I can also tell you have a demonic parentage."

Shiori smiled at him warmly. "I am Lady Shiori. Don't bother asking for my family name because I've never bothered to take one. I am the leader of the Bat Clan, or at least what is left of it. Lady Kagome here and her first husband Inuyasha rescued me from my evil grandfather and destroyed nearly all of my clan, thankfully. I am all that is left and the only other members of my clan are my children and grandchildren along with a few remaining offspring from other bat demons of which Uswe was descended from. Most people think of bat demons as vampires, but like Lord Ginta's clan we are greatly misunderstood. My powers are derived from the essence of the bat. I have also learned magic at the feet of Lord Shippou and Lady Kagome over the years. Ginta, Kagome, and I keep an eye out for those with demon blood in their veins and we track them to make sure they don't get into any trouble and disrupt the world of humans."

"Why?" Soujiro asked perplexed.

"Because their demon heritage makes them more powerful than their totally human contemporaries, and it would be very easy of those 'of the blood' as we call them to take over everything." Kagome said earnestly. "We have done so ever since Lord Sesshomaru, my brother-in-law, left Japan over four hundred years ago taking most of the demons with him."

"Just how old are you supposed to be?" Soujiro asked aghast.

"I'm four hundred and ninety years old Soujiro. Ginta here is nearly six hundred, and Shiori is actually younger than I am by about ten years." Kagome said slowly. "Depending on how much demon blood is in your veins, you could easily live to be one hundred to two hundred years old."

"This is a little hard to swallow, Lady Kagome." Soujiro said politely.

"I know dear, that's why I asked you to stay here yesterday. I want to know where you came from, because I need to know if there are demons roaming about that I'm not aware of. I also may need your help dealing with these new demons that are threatening the sacred jewel which I have charge of." Kagome said softly. "That is why I'm asking you Soujiro. Please, will you help me?"

Soujiro looked into her deep brown eyes. He couldn't turn away. He didn't know if he believed all the demon nonsense, but he definitely couldn't turn away from those eyes. "As you wish."

"Well, that's settled." Shiori said finally. "Now let's turn our attention to these demons that are plaguing the area. So far they have kept quiet, but I think we might be dealing with elementals here."

"What makes you say that?" Kagome asked curiously.

"Well, for starters we haven't been getting any indication that there have been any attacks against humans which would be the trademark of an animalistic clan. Since we haven't heard anyone screaming 'werewolf', 'vampire', or any other such nonsense I can only assume that they must be elemental." Shiori said sipping her tea.

"What about non-aligned demons?" Ginta asked.

"Not likely. Non-aligned demons generally lack the power of the other clans. My guess is that these demons are elemental. So what about you boy, can you do anything other than run?" Shiori said looking with her blank eyes at Soujiro.

"No. I'm fast, but I've never been able to do anything else." Soujiro said numbly.

Shiori nodded and then looked him over with her unseeing eyes. "I'm going to guess that you're probably aligned to a different animal essence. Since you don't appear to belong to a clan, I'm going to guess that it is probably one of the lesser sorts. A rabbit or deer perhaps, unfortunately I don't know of any half demons of those types that might be your mother or grandmother."

"Will you look into it Shiori?" Kagome asked her. "I need to find out what's going on with these demon attacks and Tsubaki has been reincarnated."

"Your old nemesis?" Ginta asked.

"Yes, it's getting around to being the time for those souls that lived back then to be reincarnated." Kagome said sadly. "I guess the one blessing in all of this is that I might have the pleasure of Sango's or Kaede's company once again."

Ginta grinned and Shiori smiled sadly. "I know it's been lonely for you. Don't worry though; I'll see if I can find out where this boy came from. You need to focus on the task at hand."

Ginta nodded. "I'll send a guardian spirit to you as well. If these demons try to attack again you'll need all the help you can get."

The rest of the time passed as the three of them talked about old times. Soujiro tried to wrap his mind around the idea that this young girl Kagome who looked younger than himself was actually centuries old. He tried and failed.

Finally the two elderly 'demons' bid Kagome farewell and set off around dusk. Soujiro had never been so happy to see someone leave in his life. The two of them gave him the creeps.

Soujiro kept silent as he helped Yahiko and Tsubame clean up. He didn't want to think about what had been said and he also figured that as a rurouni he should start earning his keep.

Soujiro was surprised when Kagome sought him out and pulled him away from the two young people. "Tsubame you and Yahiko finish up and then I want you to go practice meditation. Yahiko, you better not be anywhere around or she'll never get it right. Go practice swordplay or something." Kagome said off-handedly.

"I'll be glad to help you, Yahiko-san." Soujiro offered smiling.

"No Soujiro, I need your help with something tonight." Kagome said seriously. Soujiro could sense that she was troubled, but he didn't let it disturb his smile. If observing Kenshin had taught him anything it was that sometimes it was better just to smile and act stupid. "Of course, Kagome-sama."

Kagome pulled him from the room and led him toward the kitchen. There she quickly made a single cup of tea that smelled very funny. She then led Soujiro back to his own room.

Kagome opened the door and stepped aside before handing the tea to Soujiro. "Soujiro, I'm going to ask something of you. You can say no if you want to, but I really need you to do this for me."

Soujiro's heart leapt into his throat as he struggled to figure out what he was supposed to say. "What do you want of me Lady Kagome?" Was she REALLY asking him what he THOUGHT she was asking him?

"Soujiro I want to enter your dreams tonight. The last time I tried it on a swordsman of your caliber it had disastrous results. I want you to go inside and ready yourself for bed and lie down. Then I want you to drink this tea. It will make you sleep soundly. Once you're asleep I can come into your mind. It might give me a clue as to where you come from."

Soujiro almost sighed in relief but instead just smiled and nodded. "Anything to help, Lady Kagome."

Kagome waited until she could hear Soujiro's breathing steady and sure. She cracked the door open, but couldn't see inside so she stepped in to make certain he had taken the sleeping concoction she had given him. She found the cup next to him as he was propped against the wall with his sword against his shoulder.

"I swear, Inuyasha, Kenshin, and now this boy. I'm surprised that half the swordsmen in Japan aren't bent double from bad posture." Kagome said without much annoyance in her voice. It was almost cute the way they clutched at their swords as they slept for security.

Kagome started to leave, but looked back at Soujiro. Without thinking she crossed the floor to where he sat sleeping and took his sword. He didn't move. She had given him a fairly powerful sedative.

Kagome sighed and reached down to take Soujiro into her arms. She could be surprisingly strong for her size, but Soujiro was much lighter than she imagined. She pulled him over to the middle of the room and tucked him into the futon.

Kagome kneeled next to him for a moment and pulled a stray strand of hair out of his face. He looked so peaceful in that moment. He looked like a normal teenage boy and not the killer she had heard rumors about. Kagome sat there trying to wrap her mind around the idea that the innocent looking young man in front of her was the feared assassin of the Juppon Gatana. She tried and failed.

Kagome didn't realize she had fallen asleep until she awoke. The moon had already climbed high into the sky and she was lying beside Soujiro with her head resting on his shoulder. She started to rise when she realized that his arm was across her shoulders. The potion had most likely long since worn off so if she moved it would most likely wake him.

Kagome sighed and closed her eyes beginning to concentrate. At least her body would be comfortable and warm while she worked.

Kagome entered Soujiro's mind and was confronted by nothing. Where most men of war had massive emotional barriers and inner walls, here she found… nothing. It was empty. Kagome reached out with her mind until she found a trace of Soujiro's mind and then she sped towards it. She found him eventually in a barn filled with rice barrels.

Kagome looked around the barn and once again found a small boy trapped inside the mind of a swordsman. Much like the previous time, this one was crying as well. "Hello Soujiro." Kagome said walking up behind the boy.

Soujiro spun around and looked at Kagome in shock. "How did you get in here?"

"The door was open." Kagome said remembering the lack of walls. "How is it that a swordsman like you doesn't have the walls surrounding his mind that most others do? I thought most swordsmen guarded their emotions to keep them from being read by an opponent.

"I haven't had emotions for very long." Soujiro said sadly. "I locked them away for a long time."

Kagome nodded. "I see. That isn't very healthy you know."

Soujiro suddenly looked terrified. "Please Ms. Kagome you have to leave now."

"Why, what is it Soujiro?" Kagome asked puzzled. Apparently the boy didn't realize he could expel her from the dream if he really tried.

"Shishio-sama will be here soon. This was when I met him." Soujiro said looking out of the barn to see if anyone was near.

"Soujiro, if I stay hidden, can I watch. I need to know your past so I can try to find out where you're from." Kagome said pleading with what was perhaps a nine or ten year old.

"Please Ms. Kagome, you don't want to see this." Soujiro said desperately.

"Let me be the judge of that Sou-chan." Kagome said smiling. She left the boy and moved of into the shadows to watch. Soon she heard some yelling outside and Soujiro went to investigate. The dream shifted around her as she watched. Fortunately, she always seemed to be hidden when the new surroundings appeared around her. She wasn't doing anything so she surmised that Soujiro didn't want her to be discovered and subconsciously supplied her hiding places.

Kagome watched the scene unfold in front of her. There were lapses in time as she watched Soujiro take in the wounded Shishio, nurse him back to health, and subsequently kill his own family.

Kagome watched the boy's reaction. Through the rain she could tell he was crying. The scene before her shifted again and this time she was watching Soujiro fighting Kenshin. She watched as Soujiro's emotions finally resurfaced violently. Here in his dreams, Soujiro lost himself to his emotions and wailed in pain and agony. Soujiro's face was distorted in anguish.

The scene shifted and Kagome was standing amongst a crowd. She looked around to see that Soujiro's family was among the crowd still bloodied from the wounds that Soujiro had given them. Since the rest of the crowd was likewise glaring at Soujiro and were covered in blood she surmised that these must have been all the people he killed. Kagome was sad to see so many there.

Soujiro began to shrink once again, as the crowd closed in around him. "Why didn't you save me?" Soujiro shrieked.

"Who, Soujiro-chan?" Kagome asked taking the boy into her arms.

"Himura-san. If his way is so right, then why wasn't he there to save me? If his view of the world is the way things are supposed to be then why didn't he save me from my family so I didn't have to become… a MURDERER!" Soujiro wailed onto Kagome's shoulder. "If the strong are supposed to protect the weak, then why didn't someone save me? And if only the strong are meant to survive, then why am I alive?"

Kagome held the boy in her arms as he cried. She didn't have a perfect answer for the boy. She'd wondered and heard other people wail the same complaint to the unyielding heavens for over four hundred years.

"Sou-chan, look at me." Kagome said firmly. Despite this, she still had to lift the boy's chin to look into her eyes.

"No one saved you because the world is not a perfect place. Sometimes what is SUPPOSED to happen doesn't happen. Or when it does happen it turns out to be not what we wanted it to be in the first place. I cannot take away the pain in your past. All I can offer you is comfort in the present." Kagome said to the boy softly. It had been much the same with Inuyasha, so much pain and turmoil tearing him up on the inside between his unhappy childhood and his betrayal by Kikyo due to Naraku's influence.

"Why?" Soujiro said looking up into her eyes. "You've seen what I've done. Why do you still want to comfort me?"

"Yes, I've seen what you've done, but it doesn't change who you are or who you can be. You show remorse for the things in your past Soujiro. That means that the person you are now isn't the person you were then. It's the person you are now that I care about and want to comfort." Kagome said smoothing down the boy's hair.

Slowly, Soujiro's body began to change. He grew back to his normal size as Kagome embraced him. "Thank you." Soujiro said as he disappeared from Kagome's arms.

Soujiro woke feeling warm. Not just warm on the outside but warm on the inside as well. He hadn't felt this warm inside since… well, never actually. Soujiro suddenly realized he wasn't alone in his futon. Slowly he opened his eyes to see Kagome lying next to him. He had his arms wrapped around her shoulders. She had said something about wanting to get into his dreams, but he hadn't realized it entailed sleeping with him. From the warmth on his face he had to assume that for the first time in his life he was blushing madly.

Soujiro started to extricate himself from the rather intimate embrace. Fortunately, they were both still wearing the same close they had been wearing yesterday. As Soujiro tried to move his arm away, Kagome shivered and pulled his arm back over her shoulders. "Not yet Sou-chan, we've been at it all night and right now all I want to do is sleep in a little longer."

Soujiro's eyes were as wide as saucers as he looked down at Kagome. They WERE still wearing their clothes. What did she… Suddenly it struck Soujiro that last night must not have been a dream. She really had been into his mind. The gravity of this struck Soujiro like a brick between the eyes as he looked up to the door to see Yahiko standing there with eyes that were slightly wider than his own.

"Just WHAT exactly have you been up to all night…" Yahiko said incredulously.

Kagome sat straight up with a start looking up at Yahiko. "YAHIKO! Don't you ever knock?"

"I didn't think I had to, this is Soujiro's room after all." Yahiko said defensively.

Kagome looked at Soujiro and then began to blush uncontrollably. "I must have fallen asleep while getting into your dreams last night."

"Yeah his dreams weren't all you got into!" Yahiko said snidely. From the look on Kagome's face, Yahiko's life expectancy was shortening by the minute. Unfortunately, the boy was oblivious as he boldly dared to go where wiser man ran away screaming. "I mean really, for a priestess you sure work fast, you've only known him for a couple of days."

Kagome's face suddenly stopped being menacing and suddenly radiated serene calm. "Yahiko dear, I believe you've forgotten one small detail."

"Oh, what's that?" Yahiko asked.

"Kaoru only tolerates your lip because she loves you. I'm not that forgiving." Kagome said wickedly.

Yahiko's eyes opened wide as realization dawn on the barren plains of Yahiko's mind and he turned to run. Kagome however was faster, as she held forth her palm a blue spark danced from her finger to zap Yahiko soundly in the rear as he turned to run.

Yahiko's yelping could be heard through the entire house as Kagome chased him from the room. Soujiro gulped for a moment before getting up and looking for his sword.

Tsubame looked back at the stairs for the hundredth time that day and went back to her "thought bubble". It still wavered in the air in front of her wriggling around and awash with a million different colors. Kagome had instructed her to sit here and think. She was supposed to make it shape it self into a cube. She had managed a square yesterday only to be told that a square isn't the same thing as a cube.

Tsubame sighed for again the hundredth time that day. Yahiko wasn't with her today. Ever since Ms. Kagome had arrived and had insisted on making Tsubame into a priestess Yahiko had been by her side. She didn't really want to be a priestess, but Ms. Tae and her parents had both been very happy at Kagome's offer to teach the young girl to be a priestess and the decision had pretty much been made without her.

She didn't really mind, it did mean more time with Yahiko. Now though, Yahiko had managed to make Kagome fairly angry this morning and had been sent to help Tae at the Akabeko since a) Tae was short handed ever since Tsubame left and b) assigning him chores to do around the temple where he could be close to Tsubame wasn't exactly a punishment.

Tsubame went back to trying to make the cube thing that Kagome had shown her and also was trying very hard to make it black. Kagome had made a black cube this morning, and had asked Tsubame to do the same. This however was proving difficult. She couldn't remember what the colors meant except that when Yahiko was around it was a lot easier to do pink and red.

Kagome came out of the temple carrying some of the ever-present tea that the girl seemed to live off of and some food for supper, and looked at Tsubame's progress. "Did you ever manage black Tsubame?" Kagome asked setting down their dinner.

"No Ms. Kagome." Tsubame said meekly. "What does black mean again?"

"Black is the absence of emotion. You will need to detach yourself from your emotions at time or else they may very well get in the way while you need to be doing something." Kagome lectured.

"Wasn't that how I was able to save Yahiko?" Tsubame asked.

"Yes dear, your will to protect him erected the shield with the jewel's help to focus it. However, emotions are unreliable as a power source because you can't always guarantee you'll be feeling what you NEED to feel when you need to feel it. By being able to detach you're your emotions you'll be able to work powers that would normally require a different emotion. For instance, if you needed to erect a shield, but no one was in danger you wouldn't be able to do it because your emotions wouldn't be in the right place."

"But why would I want to erect a shield if no one was in danger?" Tsubame asked innocently.

"That's not the point child, and it was only an example. For now just try to make it black." Kagome scolded. "Here let me show you again."

Kagome closed her eyes and a "thought bubble" appeared in from of her. It turned black before it shaped itself into a perfect cube. Tsubame was appreciating the beauty of it when Soujiro came walking by carrying some water for the bathhouse.

Kagome looked up and Tsubame watched as her cube went from black to red that was shot through with pick specks.

"That's a pretty thing." Soujiro said as he stopped next to the porch to rest. Kagome turned and looked at the cube hovering in front of her for a moment before she quickly returned it to black.

"Oh well, it was prettier when it was red." Soujiro said picking his buckets back up innocently and heading off toward the bathhouse.

"Thought that was funny did you?" Kagome said glaring at Tsubame. Tsubame didn't think she was smiling too much or laughing, but her bubble was going crazy which was probably the equivalent.

"At least your pretty good about keeping your emotions from showing when you don't want them too." Kagome said considering her bubble. "You should be able to achieve black shapes within a few days."

"Ms. Kagome, why did your cube turn red?" Tsubame asked innocently.

Kagome looked at Tsubame's bubble for some sign of malevolence, but no finding any turned back toward Tsubame and sighed.

"Well, you know what red means Tsubame. It means physical attraction. There's no denying that Soujiro is a beautiful young man." Kagome said seriously. Tsubame blushed a little as she watched Soujiro at the corner of the grounds getting the bathhouse ready for the evening.

"You also had some pinks stars in it as well." Tsubame said watching him. "Are you falling in love with Soujiro?"

Hot tea sprayed all over Tsubame as Kagome spewed it out during mid sip of her tea. "Sorry, about that. Well, honestly I don't know. You'd think after four hundred years a woman would know some things for certain whether or not she were in love. I know that Soujiro has qualities that remind me of other men I have loved. He has Shippou's innocence while also having Kouga's straightforward nature. He also has Inuyasha's strength of heart, but I have to admit he has a certain charm about him that is all his own."

Tsubame nodded. She looked back toward the stairs for the one hundred and first time that day and was rewarded with the site of Yahiko coming up them. Yahiko was carrying something under his arm. He reached Tsubame about the time Soujiro rejoined them from getting the bath ready.

"Hi Tsubame, I brought you some food home from the Akabeko." Yahiko said happily. Tsubame decided she liked the way that sounded especially the part about 'home'. "Hey, why are you covered in tea?"

"Oh, I coughed while I was drinking and accidentally gave Tsubame an early bath." Kagome lied. "Here, Yahiko. Why don't you and Soujiro go ahead and eat while Tsubame and I go get cleaned up. We'll then come back and eat while you two bathe. I still need to help Tsubame with part of her training and you are a distraction." Tsubame noticed that Kagome was looking at her bubble. She'd managed to get the cube but the pink glow fairly illuminated the yard with the sun going down. Tsubame tried not to let it, but the bubble also started pulsing deep red when Kagome mention bath and Yahiko in the same breath.

Fortunately, Yahiko had NO idea what the colors stood for, or else Tsubame would probably be matching her cube right now.

"Yes, Ms. Kagome." Yahiko said meekly. Tsubame didn't know what spell Kagome had put on Yahiko, but he seemed to be stepping lightly around her now.

She and Tsubame banished their training bubbles and got up to leave. As they were about to head for the bathhouse Kagome stopped and turned back to the two young men. "Tomorrow, Yahiko I want you to go help Tae again. I need Tsubame alone until she manages to make black shapes. Then once she'd mastered that I'll need your help in seeing whether or not she can maintain them amidst… distraction." Tsubame definitely didn't like the malevolent way that sounded.


	5. New Friends and Old Enemies

**A/N:** I do not own Inuyasha OR Rurouni Kenshin. I do however own a big DVD collection of each and horrendous amounts of merchandise, so please don't sue I'm a loyal customer.

Chapter 5. New Friends and Old Enemies 

The dark mist swirled around the clearing. It would coalesce for a moment only to dissipate and reappear elsewhere. Tsubaki silently waited to be noticed. "You are even more useless than that sword demon I sent after her first Tsubaki." The mist growled. "Now that she has enlisted the Battousi, she will be nearly impossible to defeat."

"But the Battousi is no longer…" Tsubaki began to plead.

"SILENCE!" The darkness bellowed. "First you fail to kill Kagome and then you fail to kidnap her new apprentice that the jewel has bonded itself to. I am wondering why I am continuing to let you live, since your latest incarnation is looking like a most delicious snack right about now."

"I promise my lord, if you will be patient I will bring you the jewel!" Tsubaki cried reminding herself to dress down for her next trip to visit her new master. Memories of her vanity in previous lives had taught her that sometimes it was possible to be TOO attractive.

"THE JEWEL IS NOTHING FOOL!" The darkness again bellowed. "It matters only in that by taking it you reduce Kagome's power. Her apprentice only matters that in bringing her to me Kagome must follow. She is our only concern."

"Please master. I can be subtle. A poison in the right cup, and…" Tsubaki again ventured.

"NO! She must die, but not before it is time. She must be brought here to me alive. Only then will I be satisfied." The mist seethed. "Go now and do not return without Kagome. I don't care how you do it, but make certain that she comes here and without the jewel."

"What about the three that went to the mainland?" Tsubaki asked.

A long silence settled over the clearing. "Well now. You did say you could be subtle, Tsubaki. These three, being separated from Kagome gives me an idea. This is what I want you to do."

Kenshin sneezed. Great, he must be coming down with a cold now to top it all off. One of these days all this travelling around was going to kill him.

Kenshin looked out over the bow of the ship that he, Kaoru, and Sanosuke had bought passage on. He had managed to avoid disaster by convincing Kaoru that if they slept in the hold with the crew they would be able to save enough money to make it for the entire trip and maybe have a little left over afterwards. This was true, but the real reason was that Kenshin didn't want to have any private quarters for Kaoru to retire to considering her current 'condition'.

Of course if being in heat like a rabid mongoose could be put as lightly as a 'condition'. Battousi was definitely loose inside of Kaoru and there wasn't much he could do to control him from out here. Kaoru tended to be a handful even when she WAS herself.

Fortunately, it would soon all be over. Tsubaki hadn't reared her head anywhere during the journey, and aside from some bandits Kaoru had made short work of, they trip had been uneventful. They had found the herbs and returned to the ship within a week and gotten back before the ship had even finished taking on a new cargo.

Kenshin sighed and recollected the events that had started their journey. They had just bought passage and were getting settled when some of the sailors had taken notice of Kaoru and had made some rather impolite suggestions. Kaoru had decked the guy responsible, no real change in her 'normal' behavior there. What had NOT been normal was the fact that when the rest of the crew jumped them it had been Kaoru that had beaten them all to a bloody pulp. It would have been all right if Sanosuke had taken care of them, but it just HAD to be Kaoru, and thirty large men to boot.

Kenshin sighed again and looked out over the ocean as Japan came into view. He had nearly fainted while the fighting was going on. He hated to admit it, but he had grown to enjoy constantly saving Kaoru. It had made him feel important and it had made him feel needed. Right now, all he felt was wanted. SERIOUSLY WANTED.

The captain had apologized to Kenshin for his men and had assumed that it had been he and Sanosuke who had done the fighting. One look at his cross-shaped scar had pretty much settled the issue. It seemed Kenshin's now undeserved reputation had worked to his advantage… for once.

Fortunately, Sanosuke hadn't said a word. He was probably as embarrassed about Kaoru doing all the fighting as the crew had been getting their collective butts kicked by a girl.

Kenshin looked up as some of the crew scattered. By this he knew Kaoru was coming. He couldn't sense her anymore as all his chi reading abilities were currently running around in HER soul.

Kaoru wandered up to Kenshin and laid her head against his shoulder and put her hand on his back. "What are you thinking about Kenshin?"

"I was just longing to be back at the dojo. I want things to be back the way they were before all this happened." Kenshin said sadly. "I never thought I would miss having the Battousi inside of me. It's as if I'm hollow inside without him in there. All my emotions, my passion, even my feelings for…"

"You can still say it, Kenshin." Kaoru said blushing. For a moment it was almost like things had been before.

"Kaoru, how do you know that the way you feel about me isn't a product of having the Battousi inside you?" Kenshin said desperately.

"Because I loved you even before this happened. I never had the courage or the audacity to say it, but now I do. Some things about the Battousi being in my soul will never be the same, and some things I don't want to be the same. Kenshin, do you think how you feel about will change once the Battousi is back within your soul?" Kaoru asked looking down.

"I don't know Kaoru. This is a new experience for me. Even during the Bakumatsu I was never this 'detached'. I'm totally out of touch with what my heart feels right now." Kenshin said honestly.

"What does your mind tell you?" Kaoru asked.

"That you would be safer without me, that you might be happier without me. The passionate side of me is too dangerous to be let out. If I ever give it free reign again…" Kenshin said.

"We'll deal with the consequences together." Kaoru said for him. She pulled his face to meet hers before putting her arm back around him. "Part of me WANTS the Battousi in you. I want to see you passionate."

"That's just Battousi making you say that." Kenshin said. His face felt hot. He might actually be blushing.

"Maybe, but then you have to admit, my own emotional side was the predominant one before this happened. True?" Kaoru said smiling.

Kenshin had to grant her that one. Hopefully, he'd understand his own self better once he was again complete. Kenshin smiled looking into Kaoru's eyes. "Maybe, my emotions will bring us closer together."

Kaoru's eyes grew mischievous as Kenshin's own eyes shot open wide and he jumped as Kaoru's hand slid down his back to seize a handful of his backside and squeeze. "They better."

Kenshin spent the next couple of hours being pawed by Kaoru and trying desperately to find some reason to jump overboard. Sanosuke didn't help much either. After the initial shock of seeing the 'little missy' practically trying to rape Kenshin he had settled into their journey to watch the sparks and have fun. Sano was enjoying himself, and Kenshin wondered if he'd ever be able to live this down. _Not likely, as long as Sano remembers it._

Of course, Sano had his own problems. Kenshin smiled thinking of the thrashing he'd gotten for his usual light-hearted way of annoying Kaoru. After comparing her to a raccoon he'd been stripped and hung from the mast of the ship at daybreak so he could crow like a proper rooster. Sano wasn't living that one down either as long as Kenshin could remember it.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the ship put into dock and the three disembarked much to the relief of the crew. Kaoru had thought to send word of their success ahead, so it wasn't a very big surprise to find Yahiko, Tsubame, and Kagome waiting for them at the docks.

"I trust the journey went well?" Kagome said smiling.

"Yeah, just like I told you in our letter. We found the herbs you need for the ritual. Have you seen or heard anything from Tsubaki?" Kaoru said pleased with herself.

"No, no sign of her yet." Kagome said worriedly looking around the dock. "Speaking of which, we'd better hurry. I have everything prepared. I have a place set up to perform the ritual, and I've gotten us a carriage to get us there. Yahiko, you and Tsubame ride on top of the carriage. There won't be enough room for everyone inside."

Yahiko nodded mutely and walked away with Tsubame to the waiting carriage.

"I see you've managed to beat some manners into Yahiko." Kaoru said appreciatively.

"He's a good boy when he wants to be." Kagome said smiling.

"I can ride on top of the carriage with the two of them." Sano said politely. "I can annoy the two of them on the way."

Kagome smiled and slipped an arm around Sano's. "Why Sano, I was hoping you would ride in the coach with us and tell me all about your adventure."

Kenshin looked at the two of them. Sano was blushing and stammering as he agreed to ride with the rest of them. _Yeah, let's see Sano deal with an aggressive female for once._ Kenshin thought darkly.

Kagome ushered them all quickly into the carriage. "We have to get going. I want to make it to Raimei Valley by sundown."

"Why are we going to Raimei Valley?" Kaoru asked looking out the window of the carriage.

"That's where I've set up the ritual. It can be a bit flashy so I set up the ritual in the old ruined castle up there." Kagome said smiling to the three of them.

Kenshin lay back and tried to get comfort able. It wasn't very easy since he'd gotten nominated as Kaoru's pillow. Kaoru propped her feet up and laid her head in Kenshin's lap. "Well, I guess all good things have to come to an end sooner or later."

_The sooner the better,_ Kenshin thought to himself. He wanted his old Kaoru back, and he wanted the Battousi back. He hated to admit it but he really didn't feel complete without him inside. As soon as he got back to normal he was going to…

The thought occurred to Kenshin that he hadn't given much thought to what he would do. It was a bit foolish to think that he'd go back to having everything back the way it was before this all happened. He didn't see Kaoru accepting that kind of proposal.

Kenshin gulped. The word 'proposal' seemed to hang in his mind like an unwelcome specter. Kaoru might go back to being a woman… well, at least a little less violent and overtly sex-crazed, but he doubted that these events hadn't changed their relationship.

If he left her now she would probably track him down like she had in Kyoto, only this time he didn't think he'd have a good excuse and would probably get whacked for it. Staying at the dojo as a servant seemed to be equally impossible. The can of worms that had been unleashed by exposing Kaoru to the Battousi's rampant passion wasn't going to be cured by flowers and a kiss good night.

Kenshin thought about it logically. If he was going to stay, Kaoru was going to want commitment. It might place her in danger, but frankly his list of enemies had really started to dwindle of late. Since the encounter with his old brother-in-law, he had felt more and more at home and at peace with Kaoru. Maybe it was time to finally hang up the sword. He could deal with having the Battousi back if it meant he'd never need to kill again.

These thoughts echoed through his mind as he idly put a hand on Kaoru's head and stroked her silky hair. The glimmer he received from her told him it was appreciated, and he silently cursed the fact that Sano had come along on the journey. Having Kaoru to himself might have been alarming, but might have been amusing as well.

Kaoru tried to relax. She didn't know if it was the tension of finally getting everything settled, or the fact that she could sense the uneasiness from Kagome. Kagome had told them that the ritual might be somewhat risky, so Kaoru assumed that was what had her so on edge. This did little to soothe her own mood however.

Kagome felt a hand caressing her hair and she looked up to see Kenshin staring at her. He looked so beautiful. One thing about having the Battousi trapped within her mind, it had definitely made her dreams of Kenshin a great deal more 'vivid'. She hoped that she'd be able to live out all the things that she'd dreamed about once Kenshin was back to normal and was more like the passionate beast she dreamed of at night.

The carriage finally stopped and Kagome got out with the rest of them. Kaoru sighed and walked out into a clearing surrounded in mist. Raimei Valley was legendary for bad weather, so it looked like there was going to be more bad weather tonight. In the center of the clearing a large area had been cleared for working the ritual that would put the Battousi back where he belonged.

Kagome paid the driver and sent him on his way. "Now we haven't much time. Kaoru, I need you to sit here in the center of this circle. The ritual isn't going to be very pleasant, so I need you to sit still while I tie you down. The force of the Battousi escaping your spirit is going to be very strong.

Kaoru nodded as she allowed herself to be tied. Kenshin looked around nervously and Sanosuke looked ready to be sick. He didn't like magic and never would get used to the idea of Kagome being a sorceress. Kagome noticed Sanosuke and nodded to Yahiko and Tsubame. Each of them placed a comforting hand on Sano's arms.

"Now that we're done here, I think we can dispense with the pleasantries." Kagome said as her face began to melt and change. Suddenly the woman standing over Kaoru was laughing maniacally.

"Tsubaki!" Kaoru hissed.

Sano moved towards her, but suddenly he was held fast by Tsubame and Yahiko. Sano looked down astonished at the strength of the two youngsters as the pulled him back and forcefully made him to sit.

Kenshin looked around as if lost before finally pulling out his sword. "Let them go Tsubaki!" Kenshin stated flatly in what came close to being his old Battousi tone.

"Please little man, you're no threat to me now." Tsubaki said laughing. "Be good and maybe I'll use you as my own plaything later."

The ropes strained against Kaoru as she tried to go for the dark priestesses throat. "Mine!" ripped from Kaoru's throat. She wasn't sure if it had come from the Battousi or herself, but the sentiment was the same no matter what part of her brought it out.

Kenshin charged forward. He swung a Tsubaki clumsily, and she caught his blade in her hand. "I told you my little emasculated darling, I'll deal with you later."

Tsubaki's hand came up and suddenly Kenshin was hurled back against a tree. Vines curled around him holding him fast to the tree. Sano struggled in vain against the iron grip of Yahiko and Tsubame. "What have you done to these two you witch?" Sanosuke spat.

"Why nothing… yet." Tsubaki said smiling. "These are just my master's puppets. They're quite good, wouldn't you agree."

Tsubaki grinned as she turned back to Kaoru. "Master, I'm ready to conduct the ritual."

The dark mist around the clearing seemed to grow darker and denser as Kaoru felt a presence enter the clearing. "Excellent. Remove the Battousi from the girl so he won't be a threat. Then take the three of them up to the castle ruins and keep them there. We'll issue the challenge to Kagome once you do. She'll surrender the jewel to you for their safe release and then I will kill her."

Kaoru watched as Tsubaki mixed the herbs they'd brought back from China in a small amber vial. "Once you drink this, your spirit will become ready and I will draw out the Battousi and trap him in here." Tsubaki said cradling the vial. Then once I've found a suitable swordsman to make a slave to my will, I'll give it to him and the Battousi will live again, only this time he'll be working for me."

Kaoru struggled against the ropes, she only wished she could get her hands around Tsubaki's throat.

It was morning in the temple. Yahiko got up and wandered around until he found Soujiro. They were just about to start working around the temple when Kagome caught them. "Ah, there you are Yahiko."

Yahiko ducked his head in defeat. "Alright, I'll head for the Akabeko."

"Not today, Yahiko. Today I need your help for a lesson." Kagome said smiling.

"Sure!" Yahiko said excitedly. That meant time with Tsubame.

Kagome carted Yahiko off into a nice warm room that had a table in its center with a blanket thrown over it. Tsubame was already there, levitating. She'd been working on it ever since she'd managed to make that stupid black cube for Kagome a couple of days ago. When Yahiko came in he noticed Tsubame suddenly blush and nearly bounced off the ceiling.

"Now today's lesson is going to be on the healing arts." Kagome said grinning. "Yahiko, please get undressed and get up on the table."

"What!" Yahiko almost screamed. "You want me to get naked!"

"No Yahiko, just down to your loincloth will do. I'm going to show Tsubame how to heal some injuries." Kagome said looking to Tsubame who had managed to let herself down gently.

"Why don't you get someone else?" Yahiko said shocked.

"Alright, if you wish I'll go get Soujiro and let Tsubame train using his body." Kagome said happily.

Grumbling, Yahiko started taking off his clothes. There was absolutely NO way he was letting that pretty boy anywhere near Tsubame without every last stitch of clothing he owned on. "What do you want me to do?"

"Just lie down while we examine your body. I'm going to be teaching Tsubame where to check for various injuries, starting with the kidneys so get on your stomach." Kagome ordered.

"Now Tsubame," Kagome said, "please form that black cube that I showed you and we'll begin."

Yahiko listened as the lesson began. Apparently, Tsubame was having a problem with the black cube. Finally, Kagome started the lesson.

"Tsubame this is where the kidneys are located, in the area of the lower back and slightly to the sides." Kagome said pressing on Yahiko's back.

"Hey! Your hands are cold!" Yahiko complained.

"Quiet, or I'll give you some real injuries for her to learn how to heal." Kagome snapped. "Black, girl, black. Learn to stay focused. If Yahiko were lying here dying you wouldn't be any use to him if you can't maintain your, uh… black frame of mind. Now touch his back here so you can feel the difference where his kidneys are."

Yahiko felt a pair of warm hands touching his back. "You know I do have an injury." Yahiko offered.

"Oh, and what would that be?" Kagome asked dryly.

"My back is kind of sore from working at the Akabeko. It hurts just a little bit higher, I mean lower than there." Yahiko said trying to keep his voice from sounding too eager.

"Why that's WONDERFUL Yahiko!" Kagome said excitedly. "Black, Tsubame! We can teach Tsubame how to mend that first. What an excellent suggestion!"

Yahiko tried to contain his excitement. The idea of getting a back rub from Tsubame set his senses reeling. He hadn't heard Kagome leave, but heard her as she came back into the room.

"We'll take care of the problem in no time… This Tsubame is what's called Accu-puncture."

The screams that echoed through the temple were quite disturbing. Soujiro just ducked his head and kept on doing the laundry and tried to find something to think about other than Tsubame's training. He'd overheard the lesson earlier. His own back was a little sore from chores and had thought that maybe he too might get a chance to be the practice patient, but then Yahiko had started screaming. Apparently, Tsubame wasn't very good at finding the right spots for the needles.

Soujiro looked up at the sky as a dark cloud passed overhead. It didn't look like rain so it was a little out of place. Soujiro watched as a bolt of lightning fell from the cloud and struck the yard of the temple. Soujiro jumped up to see the cloud race away towards the mountains.

Kagome was out of the temple in a flash, followed by Tsubame. Yahiko followed soon after as he was tenderly putting his gi back on. There, in the yard was an arrow sticking up with a note attached. Soujiro retrieved the arrow and brought it to Kagome.

Kagome unfolded the arrow and Soujiro looked over her shoulder at the letter…

_I have your friends. Bring the jewel to Raimei Valley or they will die._

_Tsubaki._

Soujiro looked at Kagome who looked ready to spit fire. "According to their letter they should have been back yesterday." Kagome said seriously.

"We need to go find them." Soujiro said darkly.

"This isn't your fight." Kagome said softly.

"It is now." Soujiro said smiling. "I still have questions for Kenshin. I can't ask them if he's dead."

"Yeah, we're not about to leave Kenshin in the clutches of some deranged woman. Except for Kaoru of course." Yahiko said thinking.

"I'll go too." Tsubame said resolutely taking hold of Yahiko's arm.

"I guess it's settled then. We're going. Tsubame, I'm going to give you the jewel. My powers will last for a little while on their own, and you might need it. If Tsubaki thinks I still have the jewel, I'll be able to distract her while you three get Kenshin and the others away from there." Kagome looked at each of them. Her gaze finally rested on Soujiro. "It's still not too late to back out."

"Where else could I go?" Soujiro said smiling to her.

Thanks to Kagome's power the trip to Raimei Valley had been short. Tsubame tried to keep from fainting as she walked arm in arm with Yahiko. The three of them were out of sight of Kagome and were trying to keep from being seen by Tsubaki. They crept through the woods keeping Kagome in their sights as they went. Finally when they reached the clearing, they could see the sorceress standing in the clearing waiting for them.

Kagome walked into the clearing resolutely. Tsubame watched her and hoped one day she might be that brave. "Where are they Tsubaki? I don't have time for games."

"They're here Kagome. They're awaiting my return in the castle. Once we finish our little duel, I'll kill them and then be done with his entire business. You brought the jewel?" Tsubaki said grinning.

"It's here." Kagome said nodding. That had been their signal. The three of them slowly crept around until they were behind Tsubaki. The mist was denser and darker here.

"Then let's get started then…" Tsubaki said icily. "Give me the jewel or they die."

"FOOL!" Came the bellow that echoed through the valley. "She doesn't have the jewel! The girl has it! Destroy her! Now!"

Tsubame looked around for the source of the voice as three loud crashes were heard through the forest as the mist disappeared from the clearing and the forest leaving them exposed to Tsubaki. Tsubame looked back to see Kagome staring up over the trees.

"NO!" Kagome cried. "Koryu!"

Tsubame looked back to see the dragon towering over the trees. "Yes, and I'm a great deal larger than the hatchling your husband Inuyasha once tormented. Now you and your pathetic little friends are all going to die!"

The dragon reared its head back and lashed out with lightning. Tsubame watched the lightning coming for them, but Soujiro was there first carrying her and Yahiko to safety.

Kagome tried to intervene, but Tsubaki blocked her path. "Your fight is with me, witch! SOUL BLASTER!"

Tsubame watched as the dragon chased Soujiro and Kagome fought the dark priestess. Finally, Soujiro lost the dragon for a moment long enough to set the two of them down. "I'm going back to help Kagome. You two have to find Kenshin and the others and get them free. Can you do that?"

"I'm on it," Yahiko said grabbing Tsubame's hand and taking off. "Good luck!"

Tsubame and Yahiko ran through the forest heading for the old ruined castle. Behind them they could hear the bellow and cries of battle. Tsubame tried to push the thoughts out of her mind and concentrated on keeping up with Yahiko. He was much faster than she was, even if she wasn't wearing a kimono.

The castle gates stood open from disrepair more than anything else and the two young kids scrambled inside. Yahiko turned to look at Tsubame. "Can you sense Kaoru and the others?" Yahiko said quietly.

Tsubame opened herself and let her senses move around her and finally nodded. "They're in the basement."

Yahiko and Tsubame scouted around until they found a dark stairway leading down. The two of them crept quietly until they came to a room that was lit from inside be an oil lamp. Tsubame and Yahiko peeked inside and could see Kenshin, Kaoru, and Sanosuke tied against the wall. The two of them looked around and then rushed into the room.

Lightning danced across the floor before they were able to reach the three of them, cutting them off. "So this is the half-pint swordsman and sorceress that Kagome has been keeping." Said a dark scratchy voice from the darkness.

Tsubame watched as a withered old woman stepped out of the dark on an old weathered cane. "Who are you?" Yahiko demanded stepping in front of Tsubame.

"I boy, am Lady Soten, the last of the Thunder Clan." The old woman said gravely.

Tsubame stepped around until she was in front of Yahiko. "Yahiko, she's a demon. This time, it's my fight."

"Insolent girl, my powers are fueled by four hundred years of hatred and rage!" Soten said as lightning arced from her hands towards Tsubame.

As before Tsubame threw up a shield around her and Yahiko. "The lightning danced across her shield, but it wasn't large enough to protect Kaoru, and the others. If Kagome didn't do something they might get hurt. "And my power is fueled by my love for my friends!" Tsubame shouted defiantly. Slowly her shield began to grow until it covered Kenshin, Kaoru, and Sanosuke. "Yahiko, I'll hold her off. Get the others."

Yahiko nodded. He ran over and began untying their friends. Tsubame grunted under the force of the old woman's lightning, but didn't let up. Finally, with ever last ounce of strength she had she pushed her shield forward suddenly showering the old woman in her own lightning and the energy from her shield.

Lady Soten fell back against the wall unconscious and Tsubame rushed to help Yahiko. Unfortunately, Sanosuke was the only on conscious. "I'm glad you two are who you're supposed to be this time. Sano said as he picked up Kenshin and Kaoru. Let's get out of here."

The three of them ran from the room and ran back out into the castle grounds. The sounds of the battle below were still raging. Yahiko turned to Sanosuke as they got out. "Is Kenshin OK?" Yahiko asked worriedly.

"No, he and Kaoru are in pretty bad shape. Tsubaki drained Kenshin's spirit out of Kaoru last night. She managed to trap it in a vial she's carrying on her somewhere. I wouldn't expect too much from either of them for this." Sano said laying the two on the ground.

Yahiko picked up Kenshin's reverse blade sword and looked at Sanosuke. "Sano, you've got to get Kenshin and Kaoru out of here. There's a dragon down there and Soujiro is having to fight it alone. Kagome's got her hands full with Tsubaki."

Sano looked at Yahiko and then shook his head. "I can handle myself. So Soujiro's on our side now? Will wonders never cease? You two stay here. I'll take care of the dragon." With that Sano ran of down the path to go help Soujiro.

Yahiko was ready to swear. "Why do they always have to treat me like a child? Tsubame stay here, I'll be back."

Yahiko stopped as Tsubame caught his hand. "Yahiko, they treat you that way because they care about you, just like I know you care about me when you want to leave me behind. Kenshin and Kaoru should be safe hidden here. If you go to fight, I'm going too. From now on, we fight together."

Yahiko looked into Tsubame's eyes and realized he wasn't going to win the fight. He silently nodded and then did something he always wanted to do. If things went badly he wouldn't get the chance later. Pulling Tsubame close, he kissed her full on the mouth. She didn't swoon or faint, but returned his kiss with just as much passion. When they finally broke for air, he looked down at the path. "OK, let's go."

As the two of them reached to overlook, Yahiko could see the battle below. It was not going well. Kagome was holding her own against Tsubaki, but Sano and Soujiro were doing little more than running from the dragon. It simply had to fly to keep out of the reach of the two fighters.

Yahiko's mind was racing. What could he do? Then suddenly, it occurred to him that for once he had combat experience in this kind of situation. He had fought one of the Juppon Gatana and he had also been able to fly. Yahiko had beaten him by getting above him and attacking from above, but he didn't have any explosives to help this time.

Yahiko looked around frantically for some way to get above the dragon, but there wasn't one. Then Tsubame who had been watching him put her arms around his chest from behind. She kissed his neck and then softly whispered. "You've always used your power to help me, Yahiko. Now let me use my power to help you."

The red aura that surrounded Yahiko made him feel light and he realized Tsubame was already floating off the ground. Yahiko grinned and pulled Kenshin's sword and with all his strength he jumped from the cliff.

There was no battle cry. There was no posturing. Yahiko was silent as he struck. He didn't want to give the dragon time to realize he and Tsubame were there, and he knew that he didn't have the strength to kill it, especially not with a reverse blade sword. Instead he aimed and tried the best he could to reach his target with the leap.

The crack that sounded through the forest was clearly audible, as all the sound seemed to hush before his impact. Yahiko had pulled back the sword and with all the strength he could muster had driven it down on to the base of the dragon's wing.

The dragon turned as it fell toward the earth and released a bolt of lightning straight towards the two of them striking Tsubame's shield. Despite the protection, Yahiko screamed as electricity arced across his body. Tsubame was screaming too and the two were quickly falling toward the trees and just when Yahiko was sure that his short sweet life was over a flash of blue struck him.

After a moment, Yahiko opened his eyes and realized Soujiro had caught them both before they hit the ground. The dragon crashed into the trees bellowing in pain and rage. Yahiko checked to make sure Tsubame was safe. She was unconscious, but wasn't hurt badly; so then he turned back to Soujiro. "Thanks."

"No, Thank you. Now we can kill it." Soujiro said with relief.

Soujiro turned to head off for where the dragon had crashed. Sano was there too, and turned to look at Yahiko. "We still have a dragon to slay. You coming?"

Yahiko grinned and kissed Tsubame on the check before getting up. "Right behind you."

Kagome watched the attack while she grappled with Tsubaki. The dragon bellowed as it fell to earth. Now the sounds of battle were rejoined and it didn't sound like it was going too well for Koryu. Kagome had seen Sano, so it meant reinforcements had arrived.

"If you think they're going to save you, you're wrong Kagome." Tsubaki said as she wrapped her hands around Kagome's throat trying to strangle her. "I stole the swordsman's essence. It will serve me well once I have a minion to use it on."

Kagome smiled as she knocked Tsubaki's hands away and scratched Tsubaki's face over her right eye. She had forgotten about the significance of Raimei Valley and Koryu. She wasn't about to forget again that even her enemies had weaknesses. Tsubaki fell back clutching her scarred face.

"Curse you witch! I'll kill you for that!" Tsubaki screamed.

"Not in this lifetime Tsubaki. FOX FIRE!" Kagome screamed thrusting her hands before her sending a gout of blue flame to strike Tsubaki in the chest. Tsubaki writhed trying to force back the flames, but finally her powers were spent and the flames tore through her chest and she fell to the ground gurgling.

Kagome quickly followed her, her own powers nearly exhausted only to be caught by someone. She looked up into the smiling face of Soujiro. "The dragon?"

"He's dead. I killed it." Soujiro said looking down at her.

"With a little help!" Sano and Sanosuke piped in, joining them in the clearing. Yahiko was carrying Kenshin's sword, and was helping Tsubame. Kagome smiled at the two of them before turning to Tsubaki's remains. "She said she had Kenshin's spirit. Get it. It should be in an amber bottle. We have to get it to Kenshin."

Sanosuke riffled through Tsubaki's robes until he found the potion. Kagome then got up with Soujiro's help. "Come on, this isn't over. We still have to find Soten."

"Tsubame already fought her in the castle." Yahiko said proudly.

"Still, I want some answers." Kagome said seriously. The five of them walked up the path to the castle where they found Kenshin and Kaoru. They were coming to and were looking around confused. "What happened?" Kenshin asked.

"We had to rescue you and kill a dragon." Yahiko said happily. He strode over to Kenshin and offered him his sword. "Sorry I took this Kenshin, I didn't have time to ask permission."

Kenshin smiled and mussed Yahiko's hair. "Why don't you carry it until we get back to the dojo?"

"Me?" Yahiko said surprised. "Naw, I'm just a kid. This belongs to you."

Kenshin smiled and took back the sword while Kaoru hugged Yahiko and for once he didn't protest. "Something tells me you're not much of a little kid anymore." She said proudly.

"Here you go Kenshin old buddy," Sano said tossing the amber potion to Kenshin. "This will have you back to your old self, Battousi and all."

Kagome looked at Kenshin and Kaoru as they looked at the Amber potion. She could see the turmoil surfacing. It was time she stopped meddling. "Why don't you four come with me? I want to see Soten, and Kenshin and Kaoru need some alone time."

Sano snickered a little, but he followed her as the five of them continued down into the basement of the castle where they found Soten breathing raggedly.

"So you've come to finish me Kagome? I felt Koryu die so I thought you'd be in here soon. Well, you needn't bother. Your apprentice managed to make my reservation for me in the afterlife." Soten said as she coughed.

"What I want Soten is to know why." Kagome said sternly.

"Why Tsubaki? I knew I had grown to weak to challenge you directly. Koryu was all I had left, that and knowing who else might want you dead." Soten sneered.

"No, Soten. Why did you attack me at all?" Kagome said sadly. "You've never made a move for the jewel before."

"It wasn't about the jewel." Soten hissed. "It was about Shippou. I waited for him all my life. I waited ever since the day he gave me these." Soten pulled a box of crayons out of her robes. Crayons Kagome had brought from the future and had given to a young Shippou hundreds of years ago. "I cherished them, and I cherished him. I wanted him for my own and you took him from me. I spent my life waiting for him to grow tired of you and then I might have him. Then as he grew older and you stayed young I waited for you to leave him, but you never did. Finally, I found that he had died and I could never be with him, all because of you."

Soten wheezed as she stared at Kagome in hatred. "All my life you had what I wanted, but it wasn't the jewel. I've searched for you ever since I heard of Shippou's death. Now that I lay dying I can only curse you with my last breath and have at least the happiness of knowing I'll get to see him again before you will." Soten said as she began to laugh. She winced once from the pain and then fell silent.

"I… I killed her?" Tsubame said ready to cry. Yahiko was trying to comfort her.

"No child. Soten's jealousy and hatred destroyed her long ago. All you've done is give her peace at last." Kagome said sadly. "So this is how my greatest enemy and rival dies. Not in battle, but with a cough and wheeze as her old age finally claims her."

Kagome looked down for a moment and offered a prayer for Soten. "I'm ready to leave this place now."

Minutes passed as Kaoru watched Kenshin holding the potion in his hand. "Do you have any idea how many times I've secretly wished for this? The chance to be free of him forever, the chance to live my life as a normal man. Nothing within my veins pressing me to kill, no more fire, no more anger, no more…"

"Passion." Kaoru finished. Kaoru looked down at the potion and then turned her back. "I know Kenshin. You've wanted it for a long time, and I want you to know I'll understand. If it means I'll never mean anything more to you than what I am right now then so be it if it means you'll finally be free. I want you to know I'll always love you, no matter what you decide, even if it means you'll leave me again."

Kaoru started to cry. She couldn't help it, and she couldn't blame Kenshin for wanting to be free of the Battousi, but it hurt too much to watch. She saw the others coming out of the castle as she heard the vial break against the rocks.

"Wow, Kenshin." Sanosuke said finally. "What did it taste like?"

Kaoru looked at Sanosuke astonished and then turned to Kenshin and the vial broken against the ground, the hard, _dry_, ground.

"It tasted like sake. The sweetest sake I've ever tasted." Kenshin said smiling as he pulled Kaoru into an embrace. "Where else could I go?"

Soujiro watched Sano lean back and laugh with the deep belly laugh of someone who was mighty glad to see the days work over and done with, and was pleased with the results. Sano started down the hill followed by Yahiko and Tsubame. Kenshin and Kaoru exchanged glances before they too walked away.

Soujiro watched as Kaoru put her hand behind Kenshin's back and then reached down to squeeze his bottom. Kenshin didn't jump. In fact, he returned the gesture.

"So, are you going to ask him what you came to ask him?" Kagome asked, stepping up next to Soujiro.

"Maybe later. Besides, I think I already know the answer." Soujiro said smiling as he watched the two lovers walk away. "What are you going to do?"

"Well, I think I'll spend the next twenty years or so around Tokyo. I still have a new apprentice to train, and I still don't know where you came from." Kagome said smiling at Soujiro. "Would you mind hanging around until I find out?"

"Sure." Soujiro said smiling back at her. He tentatively put his arm around her waist. When she didn't protest he pulled her a little closer and then looked down to smile at her. "Besides, where else could I go?"


	6. Epilogue: In the Beginning?

**A/N:** I do not own Inuyasha OR Rurouni Kenshin. I do however own a big DVD collection of each and horrendous amounts of merchandise, so please don't sue I'm a loyal customer.

**Epilogue. In the Beginning?**

Hojo watched as Kagome went towards the old well house. She was looking for Buyo. Hojo looked away as she went inside. She wouldn't be coming out for a while. He sighed and then started to reposition his telescope to point out into the sky from his observatory. The young girl behind him heard the sigh and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"A penny for your thoughts old friend." Tsubame said seriously.

"I never really realized just how much I miss her." Hojo said sadly. There was a brief 'poof' of fox magic and Soujiro sat looking through his telescope.

"Well, don't worry. Soon she'll stop coming back from the past and you'll be able to move on. We'll arrange a car accident of something and Hojo will only be a faded memory and Soujiro can get on with his life."

Soujiro nodded. "Yes, but it doesn't make it any easier. Besides, you're one to talk. Didn't you say yesterday that you couldn't wait for Yahiko to be reincarnated so you could finally be with him again? It would be a little awkward for an eleven year old to be jumping a young boy and tearing his clothes off." Tsubame actually blushed. Even after all their adventures together, she still had the blush.

"Kids are starting younger and younger these days." Tsubame said defensively.

"That's usually part of your 'The trouble with kids today…' speech." Soujiro said snidely.

"Be nice." Tsubame said gently. "Anyway, what are you looking for in your telescope?"

"I saw an object heading towards the Earth. With all this buzz here lately about killer asteroids I thought I would keep an eye on it. Unfortunately, it's travelling much too fast to be a standard asteroid and it isn't rotating. It is about a mile long though." Soujiro said finally zeroing in on his target. "In all honesty it looks like some sort of spaceship."

"Really Soujiro, you've been reading too much manga." Tsubame said testily.

"No, I'm serious look." Soujiro moved aside to let the little girl look into his telescope. Finally she whistled and moved back.

"Did Kagome ever mention anything about aliens to you?" Soujiro asked seriously. They had been able to get by on Kagome's future knowledge before but now that was quickly running out and they were in uncharted territory.

"Well she once told me that she stopped going home when Sota and his family got killed in some sort of cataclysm. I don't think this is it though. She did mention something one time about something crashing into the Earth from outer space. She said she had an uncle who had gone to study it because he was a scientist."" Tsubame said uncertainly.

Soujiro thought for a moment. "That's right her uncle IS an astrophysicist. He may be sent to study this thing when it falls to Earth. The only problem is that I won't be able to leave here for a while. Now that we've resurrected Madame Centipede to pull Kagome into the past, Hojo has many more appearances to make."

"Don't worry about it. Doesn't he have a daughter?" Tsubame said smiling.

"Yeah, I believe so. She's a bit younger than Kagome if I remember correctly." Soujiro said uncertainly. "Why are you going to go back to work as a music teacher?"

The young girl gathered her powers around her transforming into a young beautiful woman in her early twenties. "Might as well. This way we can get close and see if we can't stop this cataclysm from happening." Tsubame said smiling.

"I thought our only responsibility was to protect the jewel." Soujiro said getting a large grin on his face.

Tsubame snorted. "Yeah right, like we've ever needed a reason to meddle and save the world. Let's just hope that young Minmei likes to sing…"

**THE END?**


End file.
